Energy Flow
Sarah Wegner
SCI/275
July 10, 2015
Sandra Babuka
Energy Flow
According to the text, the feeding level on the food chain is considered the trophic level. At the base of the food chain is the producers. The second level consists of the first-order consumers known as the gazers. The carnivores that feed on the gazers are on the third trophic level.
What is meant by this statement is that, the shorter the food chain is the more food there is for availability at the upper level. In pyramid (a) they are mostly meat eaters, which results in having to use part of their grain to feed their animals. In pyramid (b) they do not eat meat so they have more grain to eat. It would be hard for me to give up meat completely, as we love to barbecue and eat meat quite often. To help with the food chain however, it would be beneficial to cut down on the intake of meat we eat.
Carbon in the atmosphere is more important that most realize. It is cycled from the atmosphere then absorbed by the plants and passed through the food chain. In the long-run carbon is the foundation of the food and energy production in our ecosystem. For global temperatures and human survival, carbon in the atmosphere is extremely vital.
Bacteria in the soil converts nitrogen in the atmosphere into ammonium ions. Once ammonia is converted, it is then taken up by the plants. Being vital to both present and future living things, the nitrogen cycle helps to insure there is a good amount of chemicals