Describe how organisms acquire energy

Ecosystem is a term that you’ve probably heard before—but just what is an ecosystem? In this section, we’ll learn about ecosystems and how energy moves within a system. This video provides a quick introduction to the concepts we’ll discuss.

What You’ll Learn to Do

• Explain the methods that ecologists use to study ecosystem structure and dynamics
• Differentiate between food chains and food webs and recognize the importance of each
• Describe how energy flows through ecosystems

Learning Activities

The learning activities for this section include the following:

• Ecology of Ecosystems
• Food Chains and Food Webs
• Energy Flow through Ecosystems
• Self Check: Energy in the Environment