Understandings:
Most species occupy different trophic levels in multiple food chains
A food web shows all the possible food chains in a community
The percentage of ingested energy converted to biomass is dependent upon the respiration rate
The type of stable ecosystem that will emerge in an area is predictable based on climate
In closed ecosystems energy but not matter is exchanged with the surroundings
Disturbance influxes the structure and rate of change within ecosystems
Applications:
Conversion ratio in sustainable food production practices
Consideration of one example how humans interfere with nutrient cycling
Skills:
Comparison of pyramids of energy from different ecosystems
Analysis of a climograph showing the relationship between temperature, rainfall and the type of ecosystem
Construction of Gersmehl diagrams to show the inter-relationships between nutrient stores and flows between taiga, desert and tropical rainforest
Analysis of data showing primary succession
Investigation into the effect of an environmental disturbance on an ecosystem