Question

Analyse and calculate energy transfer (food chains, webs and pyramids) and transformations within ecosystems, including the loss of energy through radiation, reflection, and absorption. Also, determine the efficiencies of energy transfer from one trophic level to another biomass.

Answer 1

Energy is passed up a food chain or web from lower to higher trophic levels, but only about 10 percent of the energy at one level is available to the next level. This loss of energy through radiation, reflection, and absorption explains why there are rarely more than four trophic levels in a food chain or web. The efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels is around 10 percent.

Trophic Levels and Energy

Energy is passed up a food chain or web from lower to higher trophic levels. However, only about 10 percent of the energy at one level is available to the next level. This is represented by the ecological pyramid, where the other 90 percent of energy is used for metabolic processes or given off to the environment as heat. The efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels is known as the trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) and is generally around 10 percent.

An example of a food chain in an ecosystem is:

1. Producers (plants)
2. Primary consumers (herbivores)
3. Secondary consumers (carnivores that eat herbivores)
4. Tertiary consumers (carnivores that eat other carnivores)
5. Decomposers (bacteria and fungi)

It's important to note that the transfer of energy between trophic levels is not 100 percent efficient. This loss of energy through radiation, reflection, and absorption limits the number of trophic levels that can be sustained in an ecosystem.

Learn more about energy transfer