B7: FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS Flashcards
What is a producer?
(almost always) green plant that photosynthesise to produce glucose
What do primary consumers feed on?
producers
What do secondary consumers feed on?
primary consumers
What do tertiary consumers feed on?
secondary consumers
What do producers provide?
biomass
What are the use of glucose in plants?
-respiration
-to make cellulose for cell walls
-converted to lipids for storage
-converted to starch for storage
-combined with nitrates to make amino acids which are then used to make proteins
What are apex predators?
carnivores with no predators
What is biomass?
mass of living material
What are the trophic levels?
LEVEL 1 - plants and algae (producers)
LEVEL 2 - herbivores that eat plants and algae (primary consumers)
LEVEL 3 - carnivores that eat herbivores (secondary consumers)
LEVEL 4 - carnivores that eat other carnivores (tertiary consumers)
What level(s) do decomposers fit into? why?
-decomposers fit into all levels
-because they break down dead matter by secreting enzymes to digest dead matter into small soluble molecules which they then absorb and there is dead matter in all levels
Is energy gained/lost at each trophic level?
lost
How much energy from light do producers transfer to photosynthesis?
~1%
How much biomass is transferred to the level above it?
only ~10%
How can biomass be lost at each trophic level?
-respiration (energy released for bodily functions rather than producing biomass)
-uneaten material (eg: bones)
-not all ingested material absorbed (eg: egested as faeces)
-lost as waste (eg: CO2 and H2O in respiration, urea in urine)
How do you calculate efficiency of biomass?
efficiency = (biomass transferred/biomass available) x 100