Movement of Energy and Matter

Describe how ecosystems provide organisms with their energetic and matter requirements.

Energy enters the ecosystem through sunlight. Plants (Primary producers) absorb 10% of sunlight, and from there on, 10% of the energy is transferred to the next consumers. So in this example, sunlight is 1,000,000 J and the energy/matter passed on decreases the higher up a consumer is.

Mastering Biology | Pearson; Campbell Biology

Energy, unlike matter, is not recycled and as a result much energy is lost the further up a food chain you go. To see how matter is recycled, see 'Key Building Blocks and Wastes' under 2.A.3