Reasons for Energy Wastage
Biology: AQA GCSE Higher, topic 7.4.6
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:
Digestion
- Not all food is digested.
- Some food is stored as the waste material faeces, before being egested.
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.
Body temperature
- Warm-blooded animals need to expend energy to maintain a suitable body temperature.
Excretion
- Some material is excreted: carbon dioxide and water in respiration; urea and water in urine.
Test yourself on Reasons for Energy Wastage
Why do warm-blooded animals waste energy that could otherwise be used for growth?
Why does digestion cause energy to be wasted in a food chain?
Why do highly mobile animals have less energy available for growth than less active animals?
Why does the production of faeces reduce the amount of energy available for an animal's growth?
Why does excreting urea in urine waste energy that could be used for growth?