ecology stage 2 chapter 3

ecosystems and restoration ecology

ecologists group species based on

their feeding relationships

Herbivores

Primary consumers

carnivores that eat herbivores

secondary consumers

energy transfer between trophic levels is typically

only 10% efficient, meaning 90% is lost from metabolism, movement, excretion and feces

Detrivores

Eat dead matter and fragment them

Production efficiency formula

Net secondary production x 100%

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Assimilation of primary production

Bioremediation

The use of living organisms usually prokaryotes, fungi or plants to detoxify polluted ecosystems

Biological Augmentation

The use of living organisms to add essential materials to a degraded environment