how is energy transferred from the Sun, then cycled through all living organisms in an ecosystem?
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Energy is transferred between organisms in food webs from producers to consumers. The energy is used by organisms to carry out complex tasks. The vast majority of energy that exists in food webs originates from the sun and is converted (transformed) into chemical energy by the process of photosynthesis in plants.
In an ecosystem, sun is the ultimate source of energy. The solar energy is converted into chemical energy by plants and is stored in them. This energy is then passed to other organisms as they feed on producers. The transfer of energy from one trophic level to other follows 10 percent law according to which only 10% of the energy is passed from one trophic level to next and rest of the energy is lost in respiration and in the form of heat. Thus, energy within an ecosystem is not fixed.
The flow of energy in an ecosystem occurs in the following sequence:
Sun ------> Producer ------> Herbivore -------> Carnivore -------> Decomposer .