Does all solar energy captured by green plants during photosynthesis contnue to flow throygh an ecosystem.....

Question

....from one consumer to the next? explain.

Answer 1

No! Energy decreases as one transverses through higher trophic levels. This is explained through the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that entropy (randomness) within an isolated system will increase over time. The radiant energy that is first absorbed by the plants are turned into chemical potential energy. The second law of thermodynamics affects the major ecological pyramids, because as energy flows in a food chain, each time a consumer eats a body of an organism, 90% of the energy is lost as heat, because it is needed for biological systems to function and to construct biomass. No process of converting energy is perfect, as energy must be lost in the form of heat.

in other words... the keyword is HEAT! Some of the energy will turn into heat, as is the case with nearly all energy conversions.

Answer 2

No.  Some of it is never consumed.  An example is that which has been converted to coal over the eons.  It was never consumed and will set in the ground forever (except the fraction of coal that is mined).