A woodland ecosystem was studied to measure the dry biomass of organisms at each trophic level. The following food chain was recorded:
Oak trees (1500 g m−2)⟶Caterpillars (185 g m−2)⟶Blue tits (42 g m−2)⟶Sparrowhawks (3.8 g m−2) \text{Oak trees } (1500\text{ g m}^{-2}) \longrightarrow \text{Caterpillars } (185\text{ g m}^{-2}) \longrightarrow \text{Blue tits } (42\text{ g m}^{-2}) \longrightarrow \text{Sparrowhawks } (3.8\text{ g m}^{-2}) Oak trees (1500 g m−2)⟶Caterpillars (185 g m−2)⟶Blue tits (42 g m−2)⟶Sparrowhawks (3.8 g m−2)Calculate the percentage of the biomass lost between the oak trees and the blue tits. Give your answer to 2 significant figures.
State two ways in which biomass is lost between trophic levels.
61 exam-style questions on AQA GCSE Biology 7.4 Trophic levels in an ecosystem, covering 7.4.1 Trophic levels, 7.4.2 Pyramids of biomass, and 7.4.3 Transfer of biomass. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.