Energy transfer pyramids

Question 1

What are autotrophs?

Answer 1

Organisms that synthesise own organic molecules from inorganic molecules - producers

Question 2

What are photoautotrophs?

Answer 2

Light chemoautotrophs (use light energy)

Question 3

What are heterotrophs?

Answer 3

They can’t make their own food so depend on autotrophs and digest complex organic molecules into smaller, soluble ones

Question 4

What are saprotrophs?

Answer 4

They feed on or derive nourishment from decaying organic matter

Question 5

How does energy move

Answer 5

It is passed up trophic levels from producers to consumers

Question 6

What occurs at each trophic level?

Answer 6

Great energy loss

Question 7

Where does producers get energy from?

Answer 7

The sun

Question 8

Where does energy from grass go?

Answer 8

To the primary consumer, lost by heat from respiration or the energy trapped in the dead remains

Question 9

Where does energy from the consumer go?

Answer 9

To the next consumer, it is lost by heat from respiration or trapped in dead remains, urine or faeces

Question 10

Where do detritivores get energy from?

Answer 10

Dead remains, faeces or urine

Question 11

Where does energy from detritivores go?

Answer 11

It is lost as heat by respiration

Question 12

What are the types of energy transfer pyramids>

Answer 12

Energy, numbers of biomass

Question 13

What does a pyramid of energy show?

Answer 13

The energy present at each trophic level

Question 14

How is energy shown in a pyramid of energy?

Answer 14

The size of blocks represents the proportion of productivity

Question 15

What does a pyramid of energy look like?

Answer 15

Most energy is available at the 1st trophic level, then 10% of energy is available to the next trophic level

Question 16

How is energy calculated for a pyramid of energy?

Answer 16

A bomb calorimeter is used to burn sample and work out how much energy is released

Question 17

What are the strengths of pyramids of energy?

Answer 17

Eliminates most scale and inversion problems

Question 18

What are the limitations of pyramids of energy?

Answer 18

Biomass may not be equivalent to energy value as 1 gram of material may have a different kJ value, can be inverted if a rapid reproduction rate gives high productivity in a short time as is a snapshot and burning samples isn’t good for rare samples

Question 19

What are the units of pryramids of energy?

Answer 19

Mass per unit area, such as kg m-2

Question 20

What do pyramids of numbers show?

Answer 20

The number of organism at each level

Question 21

What are the limitations of pyramids of number?

Answer 21

Pyramids can be inverted if producer is large, or parasites feed on a consumer and can be difficult to draw difference between numbers of producers and top carnivores can be huge and

Question 22

What do pyramids of biomass show?

Answer 22

The biomass at each trophic level?

Question 23

How is biomass shown in pyramids of biomass?

Answer 23

Bars representing mass measured in kg/grams

Question 24

What do the bars of biomass represent?

Answer 24

The mass of matter lost between each trophic level

Question 25

What are the types of biomass pyramids?

Answer 25

Wet and dry biomass

Question 26

What is wet biomass used for?

Answer 26

Animals

Question 27

What is dry biomass?

Answer 27

The sample is dead and dehydrated

Question 28

What are limitations of pyramids of biomass?

Answer 28

It is destructive in most cases, water content varies with environmental conditions, only give value at one point in time, can produce overestimate as not not all parts of an organism contribute to energy flow and now inverted pyramids obtained

Question 29

What are the units for pyramids of biomass?

Answer 29

kj M-2 Yr-1

Question 30

What is the issue with converting light to chemical energy?

Answer 30

99% of total sun’s energy is reflected back into space or is absorbed by clouds, and most of it that does hit the earth doesnt reach a plant, and then only a small of that reaches the leaf

Question 31

How much incident energy is used by the primary producer?

Answer 31

Only 0.5-1%

Question 32

How is incident energy used by the producer?

Answer 32

Some is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis, some used by respiration and some to create biomass

Question 33

What is gross primary production?

Answer 33

The energy that is converted into chemical energy by photosynthesis

Question 34

What are the units of gross primary production?

Answer 34

kJ m-2 yr-1

Question 35

What is net primary production?

Answer 35

The energy used to create biomass

Question 36

What are the units of net primary production?

Answer 36

kJ m-2 yr-1

Question 37

Where is biomass available?

Answer 37

Only to heterotrophic consumers

Question 38

What does the net productivity of environments rely?

Answer 38

Many factors, such as light intensity, water drainage, type of plant, plant density, fertilisers, pesticides and temperatures