Question

In the ecosystem pictured below, notice that the flowers provide food for the butterflies, the butterflies are eaten by damselflies, the damselflies are eaten by scrub jays, and the scrub jays are eaten by raccoons

Use the picture and food chain above to answer the following questions
Part 1: Describe what happens to the energy as & moves through each trophic level in this environment, and why this is happening
Part 2: Suppose the producers begin with 500,000 3 of energy. How much energy would be available for the damselfles? Describe how you would calculate this number
Part 3: The apex predator in this environment is the raccoon. The population of raccoons in this ecosystem is very small compared to the other populations. Considering energy at each level, why are there few
raccoons than the other organisms? Calculate the avalable energy for the apex predator.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Part 1: As energy moves through each trophic level in this environment, the amount of available energy decreases. This is because energy is lost as heat during metabolic processes and is used for growth, reproduction, and other biological activities. This decrease in available energy is due to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that energy is not efficiently transferred from one trophic level to the next. Therefore, each successive trophic level receives a smaller amount of energy than the one before it.

Part 2: To calculate the amount of energy available for the damselflies, we need to consider the energy transfer efficiency between trophic levels. Typically, only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next.

Starting with 500,000 units of energy, we can calculate the energy available for the damselflies as follows:

Energy available for damselflies = 500,000 * 0.10

= 50,000 units of energy

Therefore, there would be 50,000 units of energy available for the damselflies.

Part 3: The population of raccoons in this ecosystem is smaller compared to the other populations because as we move up the food chain, there is a significant decrease in available energy. Raccoons, being at the top of the food chain, receive the least amount of energy compared to the organisms at lower trophic levels. This decrease in available energy limits the carrying capacity of the raccoon population.

To calculate the available energy for the apex predator, the raccoon, we need to consider the energy transfer efficiency between trophic levels. Assuming a 10% energy transfer efficiency, the available energy for the raccoon can be calculated as follows:

Energy available for raccoons = Energy available for scrub jays * 0.10

Note: The available energy for the scrub jays is not provided in the question, so the calculation cannot be completed without that information.