Explain the energy flow in a food chain.

▪       Energy enters most communities as light, where it is absorbed by autotrophs (e.g. plants) and converted into chemical energy via photosynthesis

▪       Energy then gets passed to the primary consumer (herbivore) when they eat the plant, and then gets passed to successive consumers (carnivores) as they are eaten in turn

▪       Energy is lost between trophic levels in the form of heat through cell respiration, faeces, tissue loss and death.

▪       Some of this lost energy is used by detritivores and saprotrophs. These in turn also lose energy in the form of heat through cell respiration. 

 

à Only ~10% of energy is passed from one trophic level to the next, the rest is lost.  

Because ~90% of energy is lost between trophic levels, the number of trophic levels are limited as energy flow is reduced at higher levels

Answered by Zana Katarina L. Biology tutor

19792 Views

See similar Biology IB tutors

Related Biology IB answers

All answers ▸

Explain two examples of evolution in response to environmental change; one must be antibiotic resistance in bacteria.


Describe the nature of the genetic code


What is the 'lagging strand' in DNA replication, and how is it different from the 'leading strand'?


What are the phases of mitosis?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences