7.4 trophic levels

trophic levels

Different stages in a food chain

level 1 trophic level

producers

level 2 trophic level

primary consumers (herbivores)

level 3 trophic level

secondary conumers (carnivores or omnivores)

level 4 trophic level

tertiary consumers (carnivore usually top carnvivore)

apex predator

the top predator in an ecosystem

decomposers

break down dead plants and animal matter

how do decomposers break down matter

screte enzymes

matter broken down into small soluble food molecules and move into microorganism by diffusion

pyramid of biomass

show the relative biomass of eahc trophic level

levels of biomass in pyramid

less biomass as you move up trophic levels

Why is biomass lost between trophic levels?

- some ingested material is egested

- some material is lost as waste ( carbon dioxide and water in respiration, water and urea in urine)

- used in life processes such as respiration

-energy is used in movement to keep animals warm.

efficiency of biomass transferred

biomass transferred/biomass previous level x 100