Which trophic levels have the most biomass? Which have the most energy? Why?
The second law of thermodynamics requires that the primary producers have the most biomass and total energy.
See:http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9o.html
To determine which trophic levels have the most biomass and energy, we need to understand the flow of energy in an ecosystem.
In any ecosystem, energy flows through different trophic levels or feeding levels. The trophic levels include primary producers (plants), primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores that eat herbivores), tertiary consumers (carnivores that eat other carnivores), and decomposers (organisms that break down dead organic matter).
In terms of biomass, primary producers typically have the most amount. Biomass refers to the total mass of all the organisms within a given trophic level. Since primary producers, such as plants, convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis, they can accumulate a large biomass by utilizing their surroundings efficiently.
Regarding energy, primary producers again have the highest amount. However, we need to consider two types of energy: gross primary productivity (GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP).
GPP is the total amount of energy that primary producers capture through photosynthesis. However, not all of this energy is available to the rest of the ecosystem because primary producers also use energy for their own metabolic processes, such as respiration. The energy available to the ecosystem after these internal processes is termed as NPP.
Since primary producers accumulate the most biomass and capture the highest amount of energy (GPP), they also have the highest energy available to pass on to the rest of the trophic levels (NPP).
It is important to note that as energy flows from one trophic level to another, only about 10% of the energy is transferred. This is known as the 10% rule, which is a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics. The decreasing amount of energy available at higher trophic levels explains why primary producers have the most total energy.
For a deeper understanding of the second law of thermodynamics and energy flow in ecosystems, you can refer to the provided link from PhysicalGeography.net.