Tag: zoology

Trees are autotrophs or producers in an ecosystem and trap solar energy. The solar energy is converted into chemical energy, which is stored in seeds, fruits and other storage organs. Thus, producers like trees are the source of chemical energy for all the heterotrophic organisms. All the heterotrophs either directly or indirectly depend on the food, synthesized by producers like trees. These organisms directly cannot use solar energy.

Only 10 percent of the gross productivity of producer is entrapped by herbivores for their body-building. Herbivores are eaten by primary carnivores. Only 10 percent of the herbivore productivity is utilised by carnivores. Higher carnivores are similarly able to retain only 10 percent of energy present in primary carnivores. This is called as 10 percent law by Lindeman.

A food chain is series of plants/animals which are interrelated in the form of organism being eaten as food by the other. It consists of producers, consumers and decomposers. The energy enters in an ecosystem through producers. Plants are producers which convert solar energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. From producers, the energy is then transferred to the herbivores and carnivores. The animals eating plants are called as primary consumers or herbivores and animals eating primary consumers are called as secondary consumers or carnivores. Decomposers are those which decay the waster organic matter and release energy back in the environment.

Flow of energy in different trophic levels of an ecosystem is called as bioenergetics. It is also called as energy flow. In this, there is flow of energy through the food chain. Solar energy is converted to chemical energy by photosynthetic plants. From plants, the energy is transferred to primary consumers and secondary consumers in a food chain. Decomposers release energy back to the environment by decomposing organic waste matter.

Lindeman's trophic efficiency rule was introduced by Reymond Lindeman. According to this rule, the 10% of transfer of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next successive trophic level. The rest of the energy is lost during transfer of energy and during respiration. The first trophic level has the maximum energy.