Transfer of Biomass (OCR GCSE Biology A (Gateway Science Suite)): Revision Notes
📚 Revision Notes
7.4.3 Transfer of Biomass
Reasons for Biomass Loss during Transfer:
- Incomplete Consumption:
- Carnivores often cannot consume parts like bones, hooves, and claws, so not all biomass is transferred.
- Respiration:
- A significant portion of glucose consumed is used in respiration to release energy, producing carbon dioxide as a waste product rather than biomass.
- Excretion:
- Urea: A waste product formed from excess proteins, excreted in urine.
- Faeces: Herbivores, in particular, cannot digest all the plant material they eat, so undigested material is excreted as faeces.
Efficiency of Biomass Transfers
- Formula: Efficiency of biomass transfer can be calculated using:
- Population Impact: Because only a small percentage of biomass is transferred to each successive trophic level, there are typically fewer organisms at higher trophic levels.
