Analyse how abiotic conditions and species interactions drive pioneer replacement and the recovery or disruption of climax communities.
Outline the energy flow between trophic levels in a food chain.
(original) source of energy in a food chain is from (sun)light;
captured by plants/autotrophs/producers/first trophic level;
by means of photosynthesis/converted to chemical energy/organic molecules;
plants use part of energy for own energy requirements/lost through cell respiration;
consumers use energy for own requirements from organisms in previous trophic level;
energy travels between trophic levels/producer to 1st consumer/1st consumer to 2nd consumer/2nd consumer to 3rd consumer;
not all material is assimilated/consumed/not digested/lost in faeces / OWTTE;
only a small amount of energy/(approximately) 10–20% is passed between trophic levels / most/80–90%/a large amount of the energy of a trophic level is lost (and not transferred);
loss of energy from organisms in form of heat;
energy is not recycled in an ecosystem (but nutrients are);