B1 - Biomass Flashcards
How do you draw a biomass pyramid?
You have to draw rectangular bars equal in height in top of each other with the consumer’s name inside each bar
The producer is at the bottom, the primary consumer is above it, the secondary consumer is above that and so on
The bar widths represent the amount of biomass (not number of thing) in proportion to the others
What is a biomass pyramid?
A diagram that shows how biomass passes up a food chain and the amount of biomass going to each consumer
What happens as you go up a biomass pyramid and why?
The amount of biomass decreases as you go up the pyramid because some of the biomass isn’t consumed (inedible parts of the animal) and waste material isn’t consumed either
What does the energy for almost all of life on Earth come from and why?
The Sun’s light
This is used in photosynthesis by green plants and algae which are then eaten by animals and so on meaning that the energy from the Sun is passed up the food chain
What supplies the energy for all life processes?
Respiration
What is the main way that energy is lost from most animals?
Loss of heat because animals usually need to be hotter than their surroundings
How do the nutrients that plants have taken from ground and passed up the food chain return to the Earth?
Decay
How does decay work?
The dead remains of the animals and plants and their waste products contain the nutrients originally taken from the ground
These materials are all digested (broken down) by microorganisms and return to the Earth as the basic elements and compounds
What 2 things speed up decay by microorganisms?
Plenty of oxygen available
Warm, moist conditions
Describe how compost bins work
Most plant and animal waste can be made into compost
The compost is finely shredded to increase the rate of decay and put into the compost bin
The mesh sides allows air to get in to provide oxygen and the decomposition in the small area allows the area to become warm
Why are there not usually more than 5 species in a food chain?
At the top of the food chain, the amount of biomass that has been lost causes the biomass given to the top predator is minimal
What is the carbon cycle?
The natural processes that cause carbon to be recycled over and over again
How does the carbon cycle start?
Carbon dioxide in the air
What is the first step of the carbon cycle?
Green plants and algae use the carbon dioxide in photosynthesis
What are the 5 ways that the carbon is returned to the atmosphere?
When the plants and algae respite, carbon dioxide is released to the air
When animals eat the plants, the carbon is used to make carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the animals
Carbon dioxide is released when the animals respite
When plants, algae and animals die, microorganisms digest the remains and when they respire, they release the carbon dioxide
Microorganisms also digest the animal waste products and release the carbon dioxide when they respire
We also burn animal and plant waste and fossil fuels and release carbon dioxide in combustion
All carbon is returned to the atmosphere in some way
