Critical Analysis Question:
Explain why the energy flow through carnivores in an ecosystem cannot exceed primary production in the ecosystem.
To formulate your answer, first consider these additional thought questions:
Now you know that plants, also known as primary producers, act as the middleman in the transfer of energy from the Sun to other consumers, such as herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores (or top predators). As a rule, about 80 to 90% of the available energy to do work is lost as it moves from one trophic level to the next. How is energy “lost” from one level to the next? Match the example to the correct type of loss. | |
a. Some animals maintain a steady body temperature in order to live. | seqntoayY/n5JZBpxchd5Pdr1tgnwAYTgH2df3xJfSpZt0i2br61goUWpeViNck6q1MchsMSEDA= |
b. Animals may hunt, play, reproduce, and so on, which means they are using up some of the energy they consumed to function, making less available to the next level of the trophic pyramid. | zTTFFsiSV9yiFdD3E1ZMKTQwWApSfLnGQnh5OPtEmWeZIaeIzx0SE5/QFKN3gnOcrEhX3T3k4lDA+XX9nfTqMEc8kA4ksllW |
c. A top predator leaves behind the bones or feathers of its prey, so the energy that went into creating those parts is not consumed and that energy is “lost.” | G85Uhkayc1U0dMixSOrlP3IeHcNKQ1wmLvI4SqP7f01Oikzsg7uf9Xq8p0ATeuJ4xBcsBkUvCa20dAGQIOcDwA+xC2VU799dyCeDPA== |
d. An herbivore uses energy to respire, to circulate blood, to digest food, and so on, so that energy is used and unavailable to the next higher trophic level when that organism is consumed. | rSPf/feG9CM/xruwjq9Ob+rA5fnJYibJouJ8vSG/ZVwdaEXNPazjJWtJbmuqH6wFjUkQdLO8HfJHI6kVL5UGacrqnq0W2Up8 |
Only about 10% of the energy at one trophic level is available to the next higher level. Fill in the following diagram.
Tropic Level | Energy in kcal |
Secondary carnivore | Pz2PEfhsNWI= |
Primary carnivore | b0g0iQ1whKk= |
Herbivores | VjnJvkd43LCDGhCVeIJi3Q== |
Primary producers | 10,000 |
As a consequence of the energy loss, food chains tend to be short. Also, in ecosystems, relatively few top predators can be supported as compared to large numbers of primary producers.
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