Name: Secondary Productivity
Uploaded: 2019-07-19
Duration: 4 min 18 s
Description: The pace at which consumers turn the chemical energy in their food into their own biomass is referred to as secondary productivity. Let's learn in detail!

Question

Explain the process of the flow of energy in different trophic level of an ecosystem.

Accepted Answer

The energy flow in the ecosystem can be characterised as one of the major factors that support the survival of such a great number of organisms. The primary source of energy is solar energy, for almost all living organisms on earth It is amusing to find that living organisms receive less than 50 per cent of the sun’s effective radiation on earth. The effective radiation means the radiation, which can be used by plants to carry out photosynthesis.

The producers and consumers in the ecosystem can be categorised into different feeding groups and are known as trophic level.The producers or plants represent the first trophic level. Herbivores or primary consumers represent the second trophic level. Primary carnivores or secondary consumers represent the third trophic level Top carnivores or tertiary consumers represent the last trophic level.

The energy received from the sun is stored in various organic products in the plants and passed on to the primary consumers in the food chain when the herbivores consume (primary consumers) the plants as food. Then conversion of chemical energy stored in plant products into kinetic energy occurs, degradation of energy will occur through its conversion into heat.

Then followed by the secondary consumers. When these herbivores are ingested by carnivores of the first order or secondary consumers further degradation will occur. Finally, when tertiary consumers consume the carnivores as their food, energy will again be degraded. Thus, the energy flow is unidirectional in nature.

Explain the process of the flow of energy in different trophic level of an ecosystem.

Important Questions on Ecosystem

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