Animal Species Essay

1. On the diagram below, what percentage of energy (from the choices in blue on the left) is transferred from a producer to a: (A) secondary consumer, (B) tertiary consumer, (C) quaternary consumer? The producer takes 100% from the sun then gives 10% to the primary consumer then 1% to the secondary consumer then .1% to the tertiary consumer and then .01% to the quaternary consumer. 2. Look at the quote from Rachel Carson on the first page. What do you think the quote means? Use some of the terms we have covered regarding the topic of food webs in your one to two paragraph explanation. â€Å"All the life of the planet is inter-related†¦Ã‚  each species has its own ties to others, and  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦all are related to the earth.† I think she’s referring to the consumption between the animals going all around the world and going to the past life, similar to earth because all the animals eventually die and are tied together on earth. The food chain connects everyone and everything together in some way which is key to life on earth. 3. Why is it beneficial that many predatory fish have larval and juvenile stages that feed at a low trophic level, while the adults feed at a tertiary or quaternary trophic level? It’s beneficial because then they’re not competing for the same food. If the juvenile are eating something different it will help them actually make it to adulthood. Also juvenile fish don’t have the same energy as the adults so they eat in the low trophic level because it’s an easier and safer feed. 4. Not all adults feed at a high trophic level. Whale sharks (50 ft) are the largest fish and feed on plankton and small fish, while Great White sharks (20 ft) are the largest carnivorous fish and feed on sea lions, seals and large fish. Blue whales (100 ft) are the largest whale and feed primarily on plankton and krill, while the Sperm whale (45 ft) is the largest carnivorous whale feeding on fish and very large squid. (a) How does the location of each animal’s position in relation to the producers contribute to their size? Be sure to look at the food chain and the amount of energy that is being transferred between the levels. –I think the location of an animal correlates with ones size because if you think of a wale compared to costal fish you know they can’t eat the same things considering a wale being right offshore is highly unlikely. Plus the larger animals (like a whale) won’t have as much energy  as a smaller animal to catch its food so they would eat in the low trophic level because it’s easier to get, and takes less energy. (b) Why do you suppose the plankton feeders are able to attain such large sizes compared to the carnivores? –The main reason I feel that plankton eaters are able to attain such large sizes is because plankton are not a hard catch compared to trying to catch a seal or chase a school of fish. Plankton eaters can eat a lot more, while saving energy, which is perfect for bigger animals.