The most common limiting factors involved in the growth and reproduction of organisms in the ecosystem were presented. The effect of the limiting factor of nutrients was used as an example to show the effect on the ecosystem cycle of energy. A simple food chain was presented along with an explanation of each of the trophic levels affected by changes in the nutrient levels. The loss of energy from one trophic level to the next was shown, and the amount of biomass presented. The food chain was simply listed, and then expanded into a food web.