Name: energy loss in food chains
Uploaded: 2025-10-23T11:48:54.000Z
Duration: 46 s
Channel: JoVE

K12 Standards

north-carolina-k-12-science-standard-course-of-study

NC K-12 Science Standard Course of Study

9-12

Earth and Environmental Science

Earth's Systems

ESS.EES.3.4

Trophic Efficiency

À medida que a energia flui os níveis tróficos em um ecossistema, grandes quantidades são perdidas na forma de calor conforme a energia é transformada de uma forma para a outra, o segundo princípio da termodinâmica. Em um ecossistema de floresta temperada, a energia disponível para os consumidores primários por produtores primários é cerca de 6.000 quilocalorias por metro quadrado por ano. No entanto, os consumidores primários só podem assimilar cerca de 10%dessa quantidade original disponível no próximo nível trófico.Esta medição de transferência de energia é chamada eficiência de transferência de nível trófico, ou TLTE, e geralmente é o principal fator que limita o comprimento das cadeias alimentares em um ecossistema porque não há energia suficiente para apoiar os níveis superiores.

Tucker, Marlee A. e Tracey L. Rogers. "Examinando o tamanho do corpo predador-presa, nível trófico e massa corporal em mamíferos marinhos e terrestres." Anais da Royal Society B: Ciências Biológicas 281, nº 1797 (22 de dezembro de 2014). [<a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2103" target="__blank">Fonte</a>]

Sanders, Dirk, Andrea Moser, Jason Newton e F. J. Frank van Veen. "A eficiência da assimilação trófica aumenta acentuadamente em níveis tróficos mais altos na cadeia alimentar hospedeiro-parasitóide de quatro níveis." Anais da Royal Society B: Ciências Biológicas 283, nº 1826 (16 de março de 2016). [<a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.3043" target="__blank">Fonte</a>]

eficiência trófica

A eficiência de transferência de nível trófico (TLTE) é uma medida da transferência total de energia de um nível trófico para o seguinte. Devido à extensa perda de energia como calor metabólico, uma média de apenas 10% da energia original obtida é passada para o nível seguinte. Esse padrão de perda de energia limita severamente o possível número de níveis tróficos em uma cadeia alimentar.
 
 <h4>Eficiência de Transferência de Nível Trófico</h4>
 
 Seguindo a segunda lei da termodinâmica, grandes quantidades de energia são perdidas do ecossistema e de um nível trófico para o outro à medida que ela é transferida e transformada. Em sistemas biológicos, essa energia é perdida como calor metabólico durante a respiração, conforme um organismo consome o seguinte. A medição da transferência de energia de um nível trófico para o seguinte é conhecida como eficiência de transferência de nível trófico (TLTE) e é uma função da produção de energia do nível trófico atual e a do nível anterior. Esta medida tem amplas implicações em relação ao tamanho total das cadeias alimentares.
 
 <h4>A “Regra dos 10”</h4>
 
 No geral, apenas cerca de 10% da energia é transferida de um nível trófico para o outro, e esse número pode variar de 5 a 20% dependendo do ecossistema. Isso significa que 90% da energia obtida é perdida em cada nível trófico, afetando muito o número máximo de níveis possíveis no ecossistema. Por exemplo, se um ecossistema recebesse 600.000 Kcal de energia solar do sol, os produtores primários passariam apenas 60.000 Kcal para herbívoros, que passariam apenas 6.000 Kcal para consumidores secundários, 600 Kcal para consumidores terciários e 60 Kcal para consumidores quaternários no topo da cadeia alimentar. Um predador alfa como um lobo—que precisa de uma média de 2000 Kcal por dia—precisa consumir uma quantidade muito alta de consumidores secundários ou terciários para cumprir sua cota calórica por dia.

Eficiência Trófica

A eficiência de transferência de nível trófico (TLTE) é uma medida da transferência total de energia de um nível trófico para o próximo. Devido à extensa perda de energia como ...

Education

JoVE Core

Biology

Biologia

Ecology

Ecologia

Ecosystems

Ecossistemas

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

TERMOS-CHAVE E CONCEITOS

energy loss in food chains

Trophic level transfer efficiency describes how much energy moves from one level of a food chain to the next. It shows why energy drops sharply as organisms eat and are eaten. In most ecosystems, only about 10% of the energy passes on.

This energy loss follows the second law of thermodynamics. In living systems, much of the energy is lost as metabolic heat during respiration. Trophic level transfer efficiency, or TLTE, measures this transfer by comparing the energy produced at one trophic level with the energy available from the previous level.

The 10% rule is a useful guide, although the transfer can range from about 5% to 20% depending on the ecosystem. That means about 90% of the energy is lost at each step. This loss limits how many trophic levels a food chain can support.

A simple energy example shows the pattern. If an ecosystem received 600,000 Kcal of solar energy, primary producers would pass only 60,000 Kcal to herbivores. Those herbivores would pass 6,000 Kcal to secondary consumers, then 600 Kcal to tertiary consumers, and 60 Kcal to quaternary consumers.

This energy shortage also affects top predators. A wolf, for example, needs about 2000 Kcal per day. To meet that need, it would have to eat a large number of secondary or tertiary consumers.

Energy Loss in Food Chains

what is an ecosystem?

Ecosystem Zones and Climate

Ecosystems are shaped by living and nonliving parts of an environment, and they can be grouped as terrestrial or aquatic. Terrestrial ecosystems depend on climate. Aquatic ecosystems are divided into freshwater and marine systems, and depth affects water temperature and how much sunlight reaches the water. Terrestrial ecosystems are called biomes. A biome is defined by climate and by the organisms that live there. Near the equator, rainforests have high, aseasonal temperatures and high annual...

trophic levels

Food Chains and Energy Flow

Food chains show how energy and nutrients move through an ecosystem. Each organism holds a trophic level, or a specific place in that chain. The lowest level includes primary producers, which make their own food using energy from the sun or from chemicals. Organisms at the next levels are heterotrophs, which get energy from other organisms below them. Primary consumers are herbivores, and they feed on autotrophs, also called primary producers. Secondary and tertiary consumers are carnivores...

primary production

GPP, NPP, and Ecosystem Energy

Gross primary production and net primary production describe how energy enters and moves through ecosystems. Primary producers, or autotrophs, make their own food. They can do this by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, and they can also gain energy by consuming other organisms. The rate at which producers capture and store this energy is called gross primary production, or GPP. Not all of the energy in GPP stays available to the rest of the ecosystem. Primary producers use some energy for...

production efficiency

Energy Transfer as Biomass Efficiency

Net production efficiency shows how much energy organisms turn into biomass for the next trophic level. It focuses on the usable energy stored in body tissue, not the energy lost as heat or excreted wastes. This makes it a key idea for understanding energy flow through ecosystems. As energy moves from one organism to the next, only biomass can serve as food for the next trophic level. The rest of the energy is used in metabolism and is lost over time. Net production efficiency, or NPE, is the...

trophic efficiency

Trophic level transfer efficiency describes how much energy moves from one level of a food chain to the next. It shows why energy drops sharply as organisms eat and are eaten. In most ecosystems, only about 10% of the energy passes on. This energy loss follows the second law of thermodynamics. In living systems, much of the energy is lost as metabolic heat during respiration. Trophic level transfer efficiency, or TLTE, measures this transfer by comparing the energy produced at one trophic...

what are biogeochemical cycles?

Nutrient Recycling in Ecosystems

Nutrient recycling in ecosystems keeps the elements needed for life moving through living and nonliving parts of the environment. Elements such as water, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus are present in limited amounts, so they must be conserved and reused. These movements are called biogeochemical cycles. These nutrients can exist in several chemical forms. They may spend long periods in the atmosphere, on land, under the land, or in aquatic environments. Decomposition is a key part of...

the water cycle

Water Movement Through Earth Systems

Water movement through Earth systems connects the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the land, and living things. The hydrosphere includes every place where water is stored or moves. Because water supports living processes, its movement is important for ecosystem dynamics. The cycle starts when the sun warms surface water on land and in the oceans. That water evaporates and enters the atmosphere as vapor. Water can also move into the air by sublimation, which is ice changing directly into vapor, and...

the carbon cycle

Carbon Movement in Living Systems

Carbon moves through living systems and Earth over short and long time scales. It is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and it cycles through ecosystems by passing between organisms and by moving through rocks, oceans, and the atmosphere. Human activities, including farming and burning fossil fuels, have changed this balance. In the biological carbon cycle, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reacts with water to form bicarbonate. Primary producers, or autotrophs, use carbon dioxide and...

the nitrogen cycle

Nitrogen in Soil and Living Things

Nitrogen in soil and living things moves through ecosystems in several forms. Nitrogen atoms are found in proteins and DNA. Most animals and plants cannot use nitrogen gas, which is the main form of nitrogen on Earth. Nitrogen must first be changed into a usable form by nitrogen-fixing bacteria before it can move through food webs. About 78% of the air we breathe is nitrogen gas, but few organisms can use it in that form. Nitrogen fixation changes nitrogen gas (N2) into ammonia (NH3).

the phosphorus cycle

Phosphorus Movement in Soil and Water

Phosphorus moves through ecosystems mostly as phosphate ions in soil, water, sediment, and rocks. Unlike carbon, water, and nitrogen, it is not found in the atmosphere as a gas. It is also often a limiting nutrient, which means it is in short supply in many environments. Phosphorus is important in DNA, cell membranes, bones, and teeth. It is found in minerals, sediment, volcanic ash, and aerosols. As rocks and sediment weather over time, they release inorganic phosphate. That phosphate then...

the sulfur cycle

Sulfur in Ecosystems and Acid Rain

Sulfur moves through ecosystems as part of the chemical cycle that supports life. It is an important element in proteins and in amino acids such as cysteine, which helps give proteins their structure. On land, sulfur reaches ecosystems in several ways. Weak sulfuric acid can fall with precipitation, sulfur can drop directly from the atmosphere, rocks can weather and release sulfur, and geothermal vents can add it as well. Plants and microorganisms take sulfur up from the soil and change it...

bioremediation

Bioremediation in Soil and Oil Cleanup

Bioremediation uses prokaryotes, fungi, or plants to remove pollutants from the environment. It is a practical way to reduce harmful chemicals in contaminated soil and water. In agriculture, fertilizers and pesticides can leach into groundwater, streams, and lakes. Microbes and bacteria can help break down these toxins. One example is atrazine, an environmental toxin found in many fertilizers, which can be removed from soils by the bacterial species Rhizobium and Tricoderma sp. Bioremediation...

key terms and concepts

Learn how trophic level transfer efficiency limits food chains, why only about 10% of energy moves upward, and how heat loss affects top predators.

Energy Loss in Food Chains | JoVE K12

JoVE Core series brings biology to life through over 300 concise and easy-to-understand animated video lessons that explain key concepts in biology, plus more than 150 scientist-in-action videos that show actual research experiments conducted in today’s laboratories.

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A coleção JoVE Core dá vida à biologia através de mais de 300 vídeos de animação concisos e fáceis de entender que explicam conceitos-chave de biologia, além de mais de 150 vídeos de Cientistas em ação que mostram experimentos reais em pesquisa realizados nos laboratórios atualmente.

Pennsylvania State Academic Standards

Life Science

interdependent-relationships-in-ecosystems

Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

3.1.9-12.I

matter-and-energy-in-organisms-and-ecosystems

Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems

3.1.9-12.F

3.1.9-12.H

Louisiana Student Standards for Science

High School

Life Sciences

from-molecules-to-organisms-structures-and-processes

From Molecules To Organisms: Structures And Processes

HS-LS1-7

ecosystems-interactions-energy-and-dynamics

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy And Dynamics

HS-LS2-1

HS-LS2-4

Environmental Science

Tennessee Academic Standards

Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

BIO1.LS2.4

Virginia  Standards of Learning

HIgh School

BIO.8

BIO.8.b

LS.5

LS.5.b

Physical Science

PS.5

PS.5.b

new-jersey-student-learning-standards-for-science

New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Science

Arizona Science Standards

HS.L2

HS.L2U1.19

Alabama Course of Study Science

Ecosystems: Interactions Energy and Dynamics

9-12.B.2.6

9-12.EVS.1.1

Next Generation Science Standards

HS-LS2-6

Florida Department of Education

SC.912.L.17

SC.912.L.17.9

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

BIO.13

BIO.13.B

Georgia Standards of Excellence

Botany

SBO6.

All Standards

south-carolina-college-and-career-ready-science-standards

South Carolina College and Career Ready Science Standards

B-LS2-1.

B-LS2-2.

Earth and Space Science (ESS)

Earth’s Systems

E-ESS2-2.

E-ESS2-3.

SEV1.

SEV1.d

new-york-state-science-learning-standards

New York State Science Learning Standards

HS-LS2-3.

HS-LS2-4.

Oceanography

SO3.

SO3.2

SEC4.

SEC4.d

SB5.b

myJoVE Corporation

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Energy Loss in Food Chains

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