ES101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Marsh, Ecological Pyramid
19 Feb 2018
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Document Summary
The movement of energy and matter can be traced through the biological system by examining the relationships between producers and consumers. Little fish eat plants, big fish eat little fish, even bigger fish eat big fish and so on. This sequence of food production and consumption can be portrayed in a food chain. What are the different levels of the food chain called: trophic level. What is another name for the primary consumers: tertiary consumers. What is another name for the secondary and tertiary consumers: carnivores. When several food chains intersect, we see a complex pattern of exchanges. This image shows the relationships between food, predator and prey in a coastal marsh ecosystem. Note that there is a complex pattern of intersecting food chains and a high diversity of species that rely on others for food. Diagram of a food chain for waterbirds of the chesapeake. Bay by matthew perry courtesy of wikimedia commons.
