Why does the energy pyramid levels change in size ?
What would happen to a food web if one of the primary consumers was removed from the system ?
The energy pyramid levels change in size because each level represents the amount of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next.
At the bottom of the energy pyramid are the producers, such as plants, which capture energy from the sun through photosynthesis. They convert this solar energy into chemical energy, making it available to the next level of consumers.
The next level consists of primary consumers, which are herbivores that eat the producers. They obtain energy by consuming the plants or algae.
Then come the secondary consumers, which are carnivores that eat the primary consumers. They get energy by consuming the herbivores.
Finally, at the top of the pyramid, there are tertiary consumers, which are carnivores that eat other carnivores. They obtain energy by consuming the secondary consumers.
Each level of the energy pyramid has less energy available because energy is lost as heat through metabolic processes, and not all energy is efficiently transferred from one level to the next. This is known as the 10% rule, where only about 10% of the energy from one level is passed on to the next level.
Now, regarding your second question, if one of the primary consumers is removed from a food web, it would have several impacts.
Firstly, the population of the primary consumers' prey, such as plants or algae, may increase because there is less predation. This could result in competition for resources among the primary consumers' prey species.
Secondly, the population of the primary consumers' predators, which are often secondary consumers, may decrease since they have lost a food source. This could lead to a decrease in the population of secondary consumers and potentially affect the entire food web.
Furthermore, the absence of the primary consumer could cause changes in the abundance of other species within the community. For example, if the primary consumer was a dominant species, its absence might allow other competing species to increase in abundance, leading to a shift in community dynamics.
In summary, the removal of a primary consumer from a food web can disrupt the balance within the ecosystem and have cascading effects on other species and trophic levels.