Energy in Biomass
Food Chains
A food chain shows what eats what in a particular habitat.
A pyramid of biomass shows the mass of living material at each stage.
The amount of biomass decrease from one stage to the next.
The sun is the ultimate source of energy.
Plants absorb some of the light from the sun and turns this into chemical energy stored as sugar during photosyntheses.
Consumers take energy by eating other organisms.
Producers - Plant
Primary consumers - Herbivores
Secondary consumers - Carnivores
Predators - animals that kill for food
A prey is an animal that a predator feed on
Scavengers feed on dead animals
Decomposers feed on dead and decaying organisms.
Energy transfer
Not all energy is transferred to the next organism it decreases from one to the next.
Some energy goes into growth and production of offspring. This energy becomes available to the next stage.
Others are used up e.g.
Energy released through respiration used for movement and processes. This is lost as heat to the surroundings
Energy is lost in waste material such as faeces
Decaying processes
Decay is a process that digests food or waste matter and recycles materials.
Microorganisms cause decay by releasing enzymes that break down compounds which are absorbed by their cells.
Bacteria and fungi are the main groups of decomposers.
Factors that affect decay are:
Moisture
Temperature
Amount of oxygen available
Substances released during decay are used by plants for growth.
The carbon cycle
Plants remove carbon dioxide by photosynthesis, the carbon becomes part of protein, fats and carbohydrates in the plant.
Organisms return carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by respiration.
When organisms eat a plant the carbon becomes part of the fats and protein in the animal.
Remains of dead animal and plants have carbon that are transferred to microorganisms and detritus feeders
No comments:
Post a Comment