Name: Heidi Hughes
Assignment 9
Review the BIO 216 Lecture Summaries and PowerPoint slides for Chapter 18 (on
Canvas) and read Chapter 18 in the Molles textbook.
A. Most of the energy that flows through a forest ecosystem flows through detritus-
based food chains, and the detritus consists mainly of dead plant tissues (e.g.,
leaves, roots and wood). In contrast, most of the energy flowing through a pelagic
or freshwater ecosystem flows through grazing food chains, with phyto-plankton
constituting the major primary producers. Ecologists have determined that on
average, a calorie or joule of energy takes only several days to pass through the
pelagic ecosystem (from the atmosphere through the food web and back to the
atmosphere), but 25 years to pass through the forest ecosystem. Explain this large
difference in the rate of energy flow.
Many of the plant species live longer than the animal species. Energy put into a moth
might last there a day, but in a tree could last years.
B. In textbook Chapter 18 section 18.3 you will find a description of “Trophic
Cascades”. Explain what this means.
When a top predator is added or removed, it can have negative effects that ripple down
the whole food chain and impact species and nutrient abundance.
Describe how the concept of trophic cascade is related to the Keystone species
concept in Chapter 17.
Just like with trophic cascades, if a keystone species is removed, it will affect the entire
food web because of the crucial role the species plays.
C. What is the main reason why global per capita grain production is no longer
increasing?
There is a declining amount of usable farmland.
What are some additional contributing factors?
Groundwater sources are being depleted and the soil is less fertile because of the
constant farming.
Some people have proposed that it may become necessary for humans to
consume more grain directly, rather than feeding grain to animals and then
consuming their meat, in part because the current meat-based diet is not
ecologically efficient. Explain the reason for this proposal.
It takes much more grain, time, and energy to raise a large animal to eat than it does to
just eat the grain directly. The amount of grain needed to keep up with the demand for
meat is massive.
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D. Americans eat a wide range of fish species. Some, like anchovies and herring, are
relatively small and eat phyto- and(or) zooplankton. Others, like swordfish and tuna
are large and are the apex predators in their food web, eating medium to large fish.
In the context of an expanding human population placing ever increasing
harvesting pressure on marine fisheries, which of these two groups of fish are most
likely to be a sustainable food resource for human consumption. Explain your
answer based on what you’ve learned about energy flow in Chapter 18.
The most sustainable are the fish lowest in the food chain: anchovies and herring.
Energy goes to other uses as it moves up the food chain, so the lower we take from, the
less energy we are subsequently using.
