Use the model here to describe the transfer of matter and flow of energy from one trophic level to another within an ecosystem.

Thanks to light energy or chemical energy, the producers, which are on the base of the pyramid, produce their food. Then, the primary consumers eat the producers. The secondary consumers eat the primary consumers. Lastly, the tertiary consumers eat the secondary consumers. The producers process the residues from all the levels obtaining their food and starting the cycle again. Each level in the pyramid has the matter that the animals in the next level will consume. The animals digest the food and break it down into small components that the body uses as energy and for its structure.

The flow of energy from one level to the other is not efficient. Part of it is lost as heat or due to not good digestion. As a result, the energy transferring as we ascend in the pyramid is lower, making it impossible to continue the pyramid since there is not enough energy to nourish another level.

Explanation:

There is a loss of matter from one level to another since some are lost as fecal matter because it could not be processed. The same process happens with the energy from one level to the other. The energy decreases since a part is lost as heat, and the animal uses a part of it to stay alive. As a consequence of this decrease in energy, the higher levels receive less energy than the ones in the lower part of the pyramid.

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