Energy Flow and the Cycles of Matter
Energy enters most ecosystems as sunlight and then moves from one organism to the next as they eat each other. But energy does not pass along perfectly — most of it is lost at every step. Understanding this flow, and the way matter cycles separately from it, answers a big group of ecology questions. Energy […]
Ecosystems: Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers
An ecosystem is all the living things in an area plus the nonliving parts they depend on, like sunlight, water, and soil. Within it, every organism plays a role in moving energy and nutrients around. The three big roles — producers, consumers, and decomposers — are a favorite test topic, and they are easy to […]
