A Web of Life: The Flow of Energy within a Rainforest Ecosystem
Below is an example of a rainforest biome food web, displaying some of the complex relationships that are found there. Food webs are amassed food webs which show the relationships between various organisms in an ecosystem, as well as the flow of energy and predation.
Firstly, at the first tier of the food web are the producers of the ecosystem: the Brazilian Nut Tree, Strangler Fig Tree, and Kapok Tree. These plants are called autotrophs, meaning they are able to make their own food through photosythesis in the presence of sunlight. Due to the rainforest canopy structure, these trees usually grow very tall - or, in the case of the Strangler Fig Tree, grow on the branches of other trees - to reach the sunlight at the top of the canopy, or emergent/upper canopy layer.
Ranging from secondary to quaternary consumers, energy is passed from producers to consumers, herbivores (plant-eating) to carnivores (meat-eating) to omnivores (both meat and plants) alike. As this energy is passed from one consumer to the next, about 10% of it is lost through heat loss as a result. Consequently, the longer the food chain, the less energy is passed. In the food web below, secondary and tertiary consumers include the caiman, jaguar, red-eyed tree frog, beetle, ants, orangutan, tiger, gold lion tamarin, and hawk which receive the least energy as a result of predation from this ecosystem. Above all, the tertiary and quarternary consumers such as the jaguar, hawk, and tiger get the least amount and are therefore have smaller populations than the various types of trees, for example, which get large quantities of energy from the sunlight.
Below is a food web made up of the various relationships between the following animals in a rainforest biome: Brazilian Nut Tree (producer), Strangler Fig Tree (producer), Kapok Tree (producer), Toucan (primary consumer), Agouti (primary consumer), Orchid (primary consumer/epiphyte), Ant (secondary consumer), Orangutan (secondary consumer), Beetle (secondary consumer), Caiman (secondary consumer), Jaguar (tertiary/quaternary consumer), Red-Eyed Tree Frog (tertiary consumer), Tiger (tertiary consumer), Gold Lion Tamarin (tertiary consumer) and the Hawk (quaternary consumer).
Firstly, at the first tier of the food web are the producers of the ecosystem: the Brazilian Nut Tree, Strangler Fig Tree, and Kapok Tree. These plants are called autotrophs, meaning they are able to make their own food through photosythesis in the presence of sunlight. Due to the rainforest canopy structure, these trees usually grow very tall - or, in the case of the Strangler Fig Tree, grow on the branches of other trees - to reach the sunlight at the top of the canopy, or emergent/upper canopy layer.
Ranging from secondary to quaternary consumers, energy is passed from producers to consumers, herbivores (plant-eating) to carnivores (meat-eating) to omnivores (both meat and plants) alike. As this energy is passed from one consumer to the next, about 10% of it is lost through heat loss as a result. Consequently, the longer the food chain, the less energy is passed. In the food web below, secondary and tertiary consumers include the caiman, jaguar, red-eyed tree frog, beetle, ants, orangutan, tiger, gold lion tamarin, and hawk which receive the least energy as a result of predation from this ecosystem. Above all, the tertiary and quarternary consumers such as the jaguar, hawk, and tiger get the least amount and are therefore have smaller populations than the various types of trees, for example, which get large quantities of energy from the sunlight.
Below is a food web made up of the various relationships between the following animals in a rainforest biome: Brazilian Nut Tree (producer), Strangler Fig Tree (producer), Kapok Tree (producer), Toucan (primary consumer), Agouti (primary consumer), Orchid (primary consumer/epiphyte), Ant (secondary consumer), Orangutan (secondary consumer), Beetle (secondary consumer), Caiman (secondary consumer), Jaguar (tertiary/quaternary consumer), Red-Eyed Tree Frog (tertiary consumer), Tiger (tertiary consumer), Gold Lion Tamarin (tertiary consumer) and the Hawk (quaternary consumer).
The different colored arrows indicate which producer the food chain begins with and shows the crossing of food chains to show the animals' relationship with one another in the ecosystem. Image Source: Sofia Nicholas.
On the left is a diagram of an energy pyramid, showing the 10% loss of energy from one trophic level to the next due to loss of energy through heat. As a result, as the trophic levels rise, the amount of energy passed to the next is greatly decreased and leads to smaller populations of animals.
In the diagram, for example, we can see how the bamboo begins at the bottom with the most energy (several hundred kilojewels of energy) and decreases as the pyramid moves up. Animal populations - higher predators in particular - therefore decrease because of the limited amount of energy that reaches them at that level.
Image: http://endangeredspeciesbiomesprojects.wikispaces.com
In the diagram, for example, we can see how the bamboo begins at the bottom with the most energy (several hundred kilojewels of energy) and decreases as the pyramid moves up. Animal populations - higher predators in particular - therefore decrease because of the limited amount of energy that reaches them at that level.
Image: http://endangeredspeciesbiomesprojects.wikispaces.com