A caterpillar eats leaves with 1200 kJ of energy…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A caterpillar eats leaves with of energy. It egests and respires . The rest goes into new tissue.
- What is its assimilation efficiency?
- What is its net production efficiency?
- What is its gross production efficiency, which is the new tissue divided by the energy ingested?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
and . Assimilation efficiency is assimilated divided by ingested. Net production efficiency is production divided by assimilated. Ecological efficiency is the production of a level divided by that of the level below.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Given. Ingested , egested , respired .
Plan. Find the assimilated energy and the new tissue. Then divide.
Step 1. Assimilated . New tissue .
Step 2. (a) .
Step 3. (b) .
Step 4. (c) .
Answer: ; ; .
Check. , so the gross efficiency is the product of the other two.
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