Food webs

• Energy transfer efficiency decreases with each trophic level due to respiration losses.
• Food chains are linear, while food webs show the interconnections between different species.
• The energy transferred from one trophic level to the next is less than that consumed by organisms at the previous level, resulting in lower biomass levels at higher trophic levels.
• Trophic structure refers to the arrangement of species into food chains or food webs based on their feeding relationships.
• Biomass refers to the total mass of living material within an ecosystem.
• Pyramid of numbers shows the number of individuals per unit area/volume.
• Pyramid of biomass represents the total mass (dry weight) of all living organisms present in an ecosystem.
• A pyramid of numbers shows the number of individuals at each trophic level.
• A pyramid of biomass shows the total mass of living material at each trophic level.
• Primary producers (plants) have the highest biomass because they produce organic matter through photosynthesis.
• Pyramid of biomass shows the amount of dry weight (biomass) at each trophic level
• Energy flow diagrams show how energy is transferred through different trophic levels, with arrows representing the direction of energy transfer.
• Secondary consumers feed on primary consumers, tertiary consumers feed on secondary consumers, etc.
• Energy flow diagrams show how energy flows through different trophic levels in an ecosystem.
• Primary producers convert solar energy into chemical energy during photosynthesis.
• The amount of energy available decreases as it moves up the food chain due to losses during respiration and other processes.