7.4.2

Trophic Levels 2

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Transfer of Biomass

Energy is wasted at each trophic level in a food chain, meaning less biomass and energy is passed on to the next organism in the food chain.

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Producers

  • Producers only manage to trap approximately 1% of light energy from the sun.
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General rule for transfer efficiency

  • A general rule for transfer efficiency between all trophic levels is that 10% of energy from a given trophic level will be available to the next trophic level.

Reasons for Inefficient Transfer of Biomass

At each trophic level in a food chain, energy is wasted. If there was no wastage, all of the energy that entered a trophic level would be used for growth. There are several reasons why this is not the reality:

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Digestion

  • Not all food is digested.
  • Some food is stored as the waste material faeces, before being egested.
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Movement

  • Large quantities of glucose are used in respiration to produce energy.
  • Highly mobile animals require a lot of energy to sustain their movement.
  • This comes at the cost of having less energy available for growth.
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Body temperature

  • Warm-blooded animals need to expend energy to maintain a suitable body temperature.
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Excretion

  • Some material is excreted: carbon dioxide and water in respiration; urea and water in urine.

Jump to other topics

1Cell Biology

2Organisation

2.1Principles of Organisation

2.2Enzymes

2.3Circulatory System

2.4Non-Communicable Diseases

2.5Plant Tissues, Organs & Systems

3Infection & Response

4Bioenergetics

5Homeostasis & Response

6Inheritance, Variation & Evolution

7Ecology

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