Ecological Pyramid

Write a statement that describes the pattern of energy transfer among consumers within a pyramid of energy

90% of energy is lost as heat as it is transferred through trophic levels

List at least three other species that might be found in the trophic level with the oak trees

Any photosynthesizing organism such as other trees, flowers grasses and moss

Describe how the consumers in one level of the pyramid obtain energy from the organisms at the previous level of the pyramid

By eating organisms in the previous level

How does the number of organisms change as you move up the levels in Pyramid A compared to Pyramid B?

In pyramid B, the number of organisms decreases from one level to the next. In pyramid A , the first level has a small number of organisms and the remaining levels follow the same pattern as in pyramid A

List at least three other species that might be found in the trophic level with the blue jays

Omnivores, carnivores, anything that eats herbivores

Explain why an energy pyramid in any ecosystem typically is limited to four or fi ve levels only

Only a tiny fraction of the original energy remains. The biomass would have to increase substantially if this system were to support another trophic level beyond the hawk

Propose an explanation for why populations of top carnivores, such as hawks, are always smaller than the populations of herbivores, such as caterpillars

Since little energy is available for a single hawk, there would not be enough energy in an ecosystem to support a large population of hawks

Are the "producers" levels in the two pyramids in Model 2 referring to the same organisms or different organisms? Explain.

The oak tree is the same, but the caterpillars eat only the oak tree leaves

Which of the two pyramids in Model 2 gives a more accurate account of what occurs in this ecosystem? Use complete sentences to explain your reasoning

The producers in Pyramid A are two oak trees, but the actual trophic source on these two producers is tens of thousands of leaves. Only the leaves are eaten by the caterpillars, so the number of leaves is much more relevant than the number of trees

List at least three possible uses and/or products of the energy absorbed by the oak leaves that did not contribute to the production of biomass

heat loss, energy for cellular process: transpiration, other forms of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide loss