The Sneaky Energy Thieves in Food Chains 🕵️♂️
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Incomplete Consumption 🍕
- Not every bite of food is eaten!
- Real-world example: Ever leave crust on your pizza? That's energy not being passed on.
- Nature's Pizza: Locusts might munch on plant leaves but not the whole plant. When a lion catches a gazelle, it's likely not munching on the bones and fur.
- What happens to this "leftover" energy? 🤷♂️: It goes to the cleanup crew, like fungi or earthworms! They aren't part of the main food chain but still get energy.
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Incomplete Digestion 🚽
- Ever had corn and, well, noticed it later? Some things just don’t get digested!
- For animals: Tough plant materials, like cellulose, sometimes just pass right through.
- Nature’s Toilet 🌿💩: That energy in the indigestible material goes to our buddies, the saprotrophs or detritus feeders, not the next animal in line.
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Cell Respiration 🌬
- This is like your body's energy factory. It uses food as fuel and creates energy.
- However, when food (like carbs and proteins) is used for energy, it turns into carbon dioxide and water - which can't be eaten!
- So, the next animal in line can't use that carbon dioxide and water for its energy.
The Shrinking Energy Pie Chart 🥧
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