Trophic levels Copy these pyramids Which trophic levels do humans feed from within each ecosystem? Why do you think there is this difference?

Efficiency of energy conversion Compare what each type of pyramid shows for terrestrial ‘v’ marine ecosystems You see from all of the pyramids (but especially the energy one) that energy conversion is more efficient in an aquatic ecosystem. Why do you think this is? click hereclick here

Efficiency of energy conversion Only about ten to twenty percent of the organism’s energy is generally passed to the next organism. The amount can be less than one percent in animals consuming less digestible plants, and it can be as high as forty percent in zooplankton consuming phytoplankton

Why is the initial fixing of energy lower in aquatic ecosystems? The absorption and reflection of light by water

Human use In terrestrial systems, most food is harvested from relatively low trophic levels (producers and herbivores). However, in aquatic systems perhaps largely due to human tastes, most food is harvested from higher trophic levels where the total storages are much smaller.

Holiday HW Watch this: Type in ‘future of food India part 1’...the actual series is called Future of Food India/Cuba/Kenya part 1.1 (2009) BBC Documentary)Future of Food India/Cuba/Kenya part 1.1 (2009) BBC Documentary