Oceanic Feeding Relationships and the Transfer of Energy

Feeding Relationships of Marine Organisms

Once energy is produced by the ocean's autotrophs, it is transmitted through the food chain as organisms absorb nutrients and consume other organisms. In this interactivity, you will learn how marine organisms consume energy. Click the player button to get started.

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The Ocean's Energy Pyramid

As energy is transferred from organism to organism in the food chain, it never transfers at a rate of one hundred percent. Due to disorder and inefficiencies in the process, energy deteriorates and is lost from a food chain over time - this is the idea behind the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. For example, the energy that plankton produces gets transferred to what eats the plankton. However, only ten percent of the energy transfers to the consumer of plankton, resulting in a ninety percent loss. Did you know that it takes 10,000 kilograms of primary producers to equal one kilogram of Tuna? Energy pyramids and food webs are created to explain the flow of energy through the ocean ecosystems. In this interactivity, you will learn about the five levels of the ocean’s energy pyramid. Click the player button to begin.

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Ocean Feeding Relationships and The Transfer of Energy Review

Now that you have learned how marine organisms obtain and pass along energy, check your knowledge. In this non-graded interactivity, read each statement and determine if it is true or false. Click SUBMIT to check your responses. Click the player button to begin.