At the end of this activity, students should be able to recognize the complex associations between the species in a single ecosystem, recognize the multiplicity of pathways of energy flow and matter circulation in an ecosystem, understand the one-way nature of energy flow through the environment and the cyclical nature of the flow of matter through the environment and understand how the balance of matter and energy in the natural environment can be interpreted in economic terms.

Originally released by Learnetic, 2016.