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How biomass is lost between trophic levels

Ecology • Trophic levels in an ecosystem (biology only)

Key concepts

What you'll likely be quizzed about

  • Biomass is the mass of biological material in organisms when water is removed; measurements commonly use dry mass to avoid variation from water content.
  • Dry mass provides a consistent metric for available living tissue transfer among trophic levels.
  • Estimations or sampling of individuals are often used for measuring biomass, as direct drying of large numbers would be destructive.

Flashcards

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What fraction of energy or biomass is typically transferred between trophic levels?

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About 10% of energy is transferred; approximately 90% is lost with each transfer.

Key notes

Important points to keep in mind

Biomass is measured as dry mass to prevent water variability.

Only about 1% of solar energy becomes producer biomass; approximately 10% of that passes to the next trophic level.

Uneaten parts do not contribute to consumer biomass and turn into detritus.

Egestion removes material from energy transfer, benefiting decomposers.

Respiration is the primary biomass loss source, yielding CO2 and water.

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