Chapter 57.3, Problem 1R

Summary Introduction

To review:

The two food webs, in the forest and in the lake, the reason behind the high trophic efficiency in one of the above food webs, and to understand, which has the higher production efficiency, a crayfish or a bear on the basis of comparison between the species.

Introduction:

When one organism consumes another organism, which is consumed by other organisms as well, then a food web is formed. The food web occurs in all types of ecosystem. For example, in oceans, the large fishes eat the small fishes, which also get eaten by the octopus. In forests, the frog is eaten by the snake, which is eaten by birds, which further gets preyed upon by large animals. The trophic efficiency is measured as the energy available at one trophic level, divided by the energy available at the immediately below trophic level.