Food Chain

IPA Lesson

Food Chain

In this article will discuss about the definition of the food chain. Keep in mind that a living organism in the world will always need other organisms and the environment. relationship between an individual and his environment is very complex, mutually influencing each other or reciprocal. Interrelationships between biological elements with non-biological form of ecological systems called ecosystems. Now it came to pass in the ecosystem food chain, energy flow and cycles of Biogeochemistry.
Understanding the food chain is the transfer of energy from the source in plants through a series of organisms that eat and are eaten.
Scientists recognize three kinds of ecological principal chain, ie the chain predators, parasites chain, and chain saprophyte.

understanding of the food chain

- Chain Predators
The primary basis of Chain Predators are green plants as producers. The chain starts from predators that are herbivorous animals as consumers I, followed by carnivores that prey on herbivores as consumers of the 2nd and ends on carnivorous and herbivorous predators as consumers-3.


- Chain of Parasites
Parasitic chain starting from large organisms to organisms that live as parasites. Examples of parasitic organisms such as worms, bacteria, and parasites.

- Chain saprophyte
Saprophyte chain starting from dead organisms into bodies decomposing. For example, fungi and bacteria. Chains above do not stand alone but are interrelated with one another to form the pharyngeal-faring food.

Trophic Level Food Chain and
One way the community interacts with the event is eating and being eaten, so that the transfer of energy, chemical elements, and other components from one form to another along the food chain.
Organisms in ecological groups involved in the food chain is classified into trophic levels. Trophic level is composed of all organisms in the food chain are numbered alike in the rate of eating.
Source of energy comes from the sun. Plants produce sugars through photosynthesis using only solar energy and C02 from the air. Therefore, plants are classified in the first trophic level. Herbivores eat plants or organisms, including members of the second trophic level. Carnivores eat herbivores directly including the third trophic level, while carnivores that eat carnivores in three trophic levels are included in the fourth trophic iingkat members.

Ecological Pyramid
Trophic structure of the ecosystem can be expressed in terms of the ecological pyramid. There are three types of ecological pyramids, the pyramid of numbers, pyramid of biomass, and energy pyramids.

understanding of the food chain

- Pyramid Number
Organisms with each trophic level - each can be presented in a pyramid number, as we know the first trophic level organisms are usually the most abundant, while the trophic level organisms in the second, third, and further decreasing. It can be said that in most normal communities, the number of plants is always more than herbivorous organisms. Likewise the number of herbivores is always greater than the number carnivore level 1. Kamivora level 1 is also always more than the carnivore level 2. Pyramid this amount is based on the number of organisms at each trophic level.

- Pyramid of Biomass
In pyramid pyramid modest amount is often less helpful in demonstrating the energy flow in ecosystems. A more realistic depiction can be served with a pyramid of biomass. Biomass is a measure of understanding of the weight of living matter in a certain time. To measure the biomass at each trophic level, the average weight of organisms at each level should be measured and then the number of organisms at each level are predicted.
Biomass pyramid fusion mass function describing the whole organism in a particular habitat, and is measured in grams.
To avoid damage to the habitat it is usually only a few samples were taken and measured, and then calculated the total biomass. With measurements like these will get more accurate information about what is happening in the ecosystem.

- Pyramid Energy
Often pyramid of biomass does not always give the information we need about a particular ecosystem. Others with energy pyramid is based on observations made in a long time. Energy pyramid is able to provide the most accurate picture of energy flow in ecosystems.

In the energy pyramid decline in number of consecutive energy available at each trophic level. Reduced its energy at each trophic occur due to the following.

1. Only a certain number of foods are caught and eaten by the next trophic level.
2. Some foods can not be eaten and excreted as waste dicemakan.
3. Only partially digested food becomes part of the body of organisms, while the rest is used as an energy source.

Hopefully this article that discusses the understanding and explanation of the food chain could be useful to you in need, and certainly could add to knowledge.