Biology: Life on Earth (11th Edition)
11th Edition
ISBN: 9780134168296
Author: Gerald Audesirk, Teresa Audesirk, Bruce E. Byers
Publisher: PEARSON
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Textbook Question
Chapter 29, Problem 1AC
Humans are omnivores who can feed on several trophic levels. Discuss how the inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels might apply to how many humans can be fed, with what environmental impacts, by people eating fundamentally different diets.
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The following is NOT true about trophic levels
Animals capable of feeding at many trophic levels will be able to survive if portions of their food supply are
decreased or eliminated
Secondary consumers belong to the third trophic level
Primary consumers belong to the first trophic level
Each stage through which energy travels is called a trophic level
Which of the following statements about nutrient challenges faced by organisms is FALSE?
Carnivores are limited by the ratio of carbon to nitrogen found in prey.
Detritivores consume food rich in carbon but poor in nitrogen.
Plants can exhibit the same type of functional response curve describing the rate of energy intake as carnivores.
The diet of a carnivore can vary geographically depending on the availability of prey.
Background
A trophic level, or feeding level, is made up of all the organisms whose energy source is the same number of consumption steps from the sun in a given ecosystem. The trophic level of plants or producers is 1, while that of herbivores is 2 and that of animals that eat herbivores 3. Higher trophic levels can exist for animals even higher on the food chain. In this exercise, you will compute numerical values for human energy needs based on diets at different trophic levels.
In this case study the owner of a farm raises soybeans and chickens. Grasshoppers feed on the farmers soybeans, and are in turn eaten by the chickens. Humans can, though rarely do, eat grasshoppers for sustenance. Humans can also eat soybeans. For the purpose of this exercise, make the following assumptions:
A human requires 1 chicken/day
There are 365 days/year
1 chicken eats 25 grasshoppers/day
1 grasshopper requires about 30 g of soybeans/year
1,000 grasshoppers have a mass of 1 kg
1 human requires…
Chapter 29 Solutions
Biology: Life on Earth (11th Edition)
Ch. 29 -
1. Which trophic level(s) must be present to...Ch. 29 - Prob. 2MCCh. 29 - Denitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrate...Ch. 29 -
4. Net primary production per unit area is likely...Ch. 29 - The effect of CO2 emissions from burning fossil...Ch. 29 -
1. Nearly all life gets its energy from _______...Ch. 29 -
2. Photosynthetic organisms are called either...Ch. 29 -
3. Feeding levels within ecosystems are also...Ch. 29 - In general, only about ______ percent of the...Ch. 29 - Prob. 5FTB
Ch. 29 -
6. During the nitrogen cycle, nitrogen gas is...Ch. 29 - Prob. 7FTBCh. 29 - Prob. 1RQCh. 29 -
2. What is a producer? What trophic level does it...Ch. 29 - 3. Define net primary production. Would you...Ch. 29 - Name the first three trophic levels. Among the...Ch. 29 - How do food chains and food webs differ? Which is...Ch. 29 - Define detritivore and decomposer and explain...Ch. 29 -
7. Trace the movement of carbon from one of its...Ch. 29 - Prob. 8RQCh. 29 - Trace a pathway of a phosphorus molecule from a...Ch. 29 -
1. Humans are omnivores who can feed on several...Ch. 29 - Discuss the contribution of human population...
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- Background A trophic level, or feeding level, is made up of all the organisms whose energy source is the same number of consumption steps from the sun in a given ecosystem. The trophic level of plants or producers is 1, while that of herbivores is 2 and that of animals that eat herbivores 3. Higher trophic levels can exist for animals even higher on the food chain. In this exercise, you will compute numerical values for human energy needs based on diets at different trophic levels. In this case study the owner of a farm raises soybeans and chickens. Grasshoppers feed on the farmers soybeans, and are in turn eaten by the chickens. Humans can, though rarely do, eat grasshoppers for sustenance. Humans can also eat soybeans. For the purpose of this exercise, make the following assumptions: A human requires 1 chicken/day There are 365 days/year 1 chicken eats 25 grasshoppers/day 1 grasshopper requires about 30 g of soybeans/year 1,000 grasshoppers have a mass of 1 kg 1 human requires…arrow_forwardThe position of an organism within a food web is described by its trophic level. When modeling energy dynamics of a food web, losses of energy at these different levels produces a pyramid-shaped distribution of available energy. True or False?arrow_forwardBackground A trophic level, or feeding level, is made up of all the organisms whose energy source is the same number of consumption steps from the sun in a given ecosystem. The trophic level of plants or producers is 1, while that of herbivores is 2 and that of animals that eat herbivores 3. Higher trophic levels can exist for animals even higher on the food chain. In this exercise, you will compute numerical values for human energy needs based on diets at different trophic levels. In this case study the owner of a farm raises soybeans and chickens. Grasshoppers feed on the farmers soybeans, and are in turn eaten by the chickens. Humans can, though rarely do, eat grasshoppers for sustenance. Humans can also eat soybeans. For the purpose of this exercise, make the following assumptions: A human requires 1 chicken/day There are 365 days/year 1 chicken eats 25 grasshoppers/day 1 grasshopper requires about 30 g of soybeans/year 1,000 grasshoppers have a mass of 1 kg 1 human requires…arrow_forward
- In the trophic structure, autotrophs are living organisms that: Are at the top of the chain, referred to as tertiary producers. Photosynthetic organisms that produce their own energy Organisms that receive their energy by consuming producers such as plants Help to decompose the remains of dead organismsarrow_forwardWhen hunting disrupts the balance in the food chain by removing all owls, there will be no predators on snakes, leading to their increase in numbers. Considering the scenario where the number of lost owls (4) is replaced by snakes, compute for energy units following in completing the table below. Trophic Levels No. Individuals in Each Trophic Level No. of Units Received from Trophic Level Above No. Units Used / Individual (Resp) No. Units Used in Trophic Level No. Units Remaining & Passed on to Next Trophic Level Mean No. Units Available per Individual in Trophic Level SUN +E = 6 1) Plants 30 2 2) Grasshopper 19 2 3) Frog 12 2 4) Snake 8 + 4 = 12 2 5) Owl 0 2arrow_forwardAn arctic tundra has a net primary productivity of 100 g m2 yr1 of C. Herbivores in the system ingest 33 g m2 yr1 of C, but then lose 26 g m2 yr1 of C through egestion and respiration, yielding an actual herbivore productivity of 5 g m2 yr1. What is the trophic efficiency (as a percentage) for this system? Your Answer: Answerarrow_forward
- In reality, foxes and rabbits don’t exist in a vacuum, they exist within a food web, in which nodes are organisms and directed edges indicate the flow of energy (an edge from A to B exists if B consumes A). In our network we will assume that there are plants, herbivores and carnivores. Moreover, we will assume perfect trophic coherence – herbivores only eat plants, and carnivores only eat herbivores. We consider a 9-organism network, with 4 plants (A, B, C, D), 4 herbivores (E, F, G, H) and 1 carnivore (I). Each herbivore consumes 2 plants, and the carnivore consumes 4 herbivores.(d) We first calculate the probability that randomly assigned edges, consistent with trophic coherence, that each herbivore consumes 2 plants, and the carnivore consumes 4 herbivores, would lead to an unconnected network.i Explain why the network of herbivores and carnivores, taken in isolation, must be connected. ii How many ways are there to assign edges between herbivores and plants consistent with the rules…arrow_forwardhttps://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/exploring-trophic-cascades create a case study based on additional research into other examples of trophic cascades. describe and illustrate how changes in an organismal population can have unintended effects on trophic levels or ecosystems. Identify the organisms and nutrients (if applicable) that are present in your trophic pyramid. Describe the normal flow of your trophic cascade along with whether removal or introduction of the organism has a positive or negative effect on other organisms or nutrient levels within an ecosystem.arrow_forwardList two ways in which you could apply these concepts : (a) “as energy flows through ecosystems in food chains and webs, the amount of chemical energy available to organisms at each succeeding feeding level decreases” and (b) “matter, in the form of nutrients, cycles within and among ecosystems and the biosphere, and human activities are altering these chemical cycles.” to making your lifestyle more environmentally sustainable.arrow_forward
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