What is the relationship between a Producer, a Consumer, and a Decomposer?
Producers make their own food. They do not have to obtain energy from other organisms. They obtain their energy from the sun and make food with that energy through the process of photosynthesis. Producers may also be called autotrophs. Most producers are plants, but there are some small organisms that produce food through photosynthesis as well. Producers are at the beginning of any simple food chain. On the African savanna, examples of producers would be any of the plants that grow there. Producers are eaten (consumed) by consumers, when either of them die , they are consumed by decomposers.
Why is the ecological productivity of oceans much lower than that of land in spite of oceans occupying 70% of earth surface?
Ocean water is not as mineral rich as the land. Minerals are essential for photosynthesis.This can be concluded from the fact that productivity in oceans is high where there is up-welling of mineral rich water or near continental shelves. Continental shelves are shallow areas of ocean where minerals from the land mass below are easily accessible.Penetration of light cannot be the reason for low productivity as it is a healthy 250 m in ocean as compared to roughly 25 m in tropical rain-forests with thick canopies. Also, less number of producers per unit area is not a reason for low productivity, it is rather a manifestation of low productivity.Edit: Minerals are necessary for Photosynthesis as they help in forming plant tissue which in turn do photosynthesis. Also, minerals like Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium are an important component of chlorophyll.
Select the two biomes taht are likely to be most adversely affected by global climate change?
A. coral reefs and hydrothermal vents Hydrothermal Vents act as a food source for many deep sea creatures who have no access to sunlight. For some it is there only food source. Without hydrothermal vents you would lose rich minerals good for algae and plankton growth. These are food for Krill and small sea creatures. Lose Krill and Lose Larger Sea creatures such as many species of baleen whales. ( krill being a big part of their main diet) If Sea levels were to change due to climate change the reefs would be in serious trouble. Coral reefs are Protection,Nurseries,and Feeding ground to thousands of fish types. If the reefs were in danger all of those fish would disappear. Large Predators Such as Sharks and many species of Dolphin would later follow as a result. And it's not just sea creatures that depend on these fish for food. Land predators such as birds would disappear too. And just think of the people who depend on fish as a part of their diet! In addition to Global climate change, human waste and trash has been polluting our oceans speeding up the rate in which coral reefs decline. The whole world depends on the oceans currents. Loss of these currents would change the climate of many areas of the world, making many areas much colder. There is likely to be some major changes in precipitation as a result, meaning more drought in some areas.
How is the pyramid of a biomass in oceans inverted? Does it not go against the basic law of conservation of mass?
The amount of living organic matter is called biomass . And the pyramid of biomass is graphical representation of biomass present sequence wise per unit area of different tropic levels with producer at the base and top carnivorous kept at the tip .The pyramid of a biomass in ocean inverted because :Food chain in ocean - {Phytoplankton → zooplankton → predatory fish.}the biomass of zooplankton is greater than phytoplankton (the producer ) because of their small size and low weight . The predatory fish is much larger than zooplankton .the producer in ocean or aquatic ecosystem producers are phytoplankton have short life span and turn over and have lower mass than zooplankton .the biomass of tropic level is depend on the longevity of memberIt does not against the basic law of conservation of mass .(I think so )
Need some help understanding ecology?
What are some examples of functional, descriptive and evolutionary ecology? I think I understand what they mean but I cannot figure out examples of each. Thanks
Why are ocean food chains longer than land food chains?
Water covers 3/4 of the planet's surface so there is much more space with enormous variation in aquatic biomes compared to terrestrial biomes. However they both start with single celled life at the base of the food web. It is just that a great deal of terrestrial trophic web activity takes place in the soil. In the soil are is an entire complex not obvious to the casual observer. It is estimated that 1 foot-acre of fertile soil contains as much as 1,000 pounds of bacteria. It is estimated that 1 foot-acre of fertile soil contains as much as 1,000 pounds of bacteria. The Edaphon consists of: fungi/algae 40%, bacteria/actinomycetes 40%, earthworms 12%, macrofauna 5%, and micro/mesofauna 3% The invertebrate soil mesofauna includes nematodes (roundworms), arthropods (mites, centipedes, springtails, insects), annelids, and molluscs (snails).