A Food Pyramid in the Hot Desert Biome
Here we see a food pyramid that shows how the
Kilocalories pass up the food chain.
The first
trophic level is occupied
by the primary producers, which are the plants. Plants make
food through photosynthesis. The limiting factor for these plants is the
shortage of water, so they produce fewer than 200 Kilocalories of food for the
animals for each square meter each year.
The primary
consumers, who eat the plants, occupy the second trophic level. These animals have very little to eat, and are small. Many are
insects, or reptiles, who are cold blooded and who use less energy to maintain
their bodies than mammals and birds do. As food for predators, they provide
about 20 Kilocalories per square meter per year for predators.
The predators are the
secondary consumers. They occupy the third trophic level. Again we see
cold-blooded animals, such as snakes, insect-eating lizards, and tarantualas.
Only about 2 Kilocalories per square meter per year are stored in their bodies.
In the harsher desert environments, they are the top predators.
In areas where deserts get more
rain, more plant material is produced and a few tertiary consumers
may be able to survive. They form a fourth trophic
level.
This diagram shows the energy available at each trophic level in the hot desert
biome.
These numbers tell about the numbers of Kilocalories
per square meter per year.
Cold Desert Energy
Pyramid
Introduction to Desert
Biomes
Return to Introduction to
Biomes
© Elizabeth Anne Viau, 1999. This material may be used freely for
instructional purposes but not sold for a price beyond the cost of reproduction.
Please inform the author if you use it at eviau@earthlink.net
