Flow of Energy
- LSTs have very few predators. They are considered Tertiary consumers, being eaten only by quaternary consumers. Phytoplankton and Zooplankton are the producers, mostly using photosynthesis to make their food. They are eaten by small fish, who are the primary consumers. The small fish are consumed by larger organisms, including jellyfish, who are the secondary consumers. LSTs feed almost exclusively on jellyfish, making them the tertiary consumers. Finally very large fish such as sharks and whales are the LST’s only predators, and they are the quaternary consumers. (Picture 1)
- The producers have the most nutrients because they make their own food, so they receive 100 percent of the food that they make. The producers are made up of plants, or specifically in the marine ecosystem: zooplankton and other small autotrophs. The rest of the organisms are consumers. Only about 10 percent of a prey’s energy is passed on to its predator. That means that a tertiary consumer receives roughly 0.01% of the energy that a producer had. Leatherback Sea Turtles belong in the tertiary consumer area, and they eat many jellyfish in order to provide themselves with the proper nutrients. The LSTs are preyed upon by sharks and whales.
- The cycling of nutrients, specifically through the carbon and water cycles, is very important to the Leatherback Sea Turtle. A crucial part of the carbon cycle is photosynthesis, which is the process of LSTs have very few predators. They are considered Tertiary consumers, being eaten only by quaternary consumers. Phytoplankton and Zooplankton are the producers, mostly using photosynthesis to make their food. They are eaten by small fish, who are the primary consumers. The small fish are consumed by larger organisms, including jellyfish, who are the secondary consumers. LSTs feed almost exclusively on jellyfish, making them the tertiary consumers. Finally very large fish such as sharks and whales are the LST’s only predators, and they are the quaternary consumers.
- Plants using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to make food for themselves. Phytoplankton, the producers in the ecosystems of Leatherback Sea Turtle, use photosynthesis to make food. Jellyfish and other animals consume these phytoplankton, and LSTs mainly consume jellyfish. If the carbon cycle did not work properly, the entire food chain of the marine biome would be affected. The water cycle is also important in maintaining the environment that the LST lives in. If water was not cycled through, evaporated, rained down on, and put back into the ocean, the habitat could be affected. The water cycle also affects climate, and in the ocean the slightest climate change in temperature could devastate certain delicate species. Needless to say, the cycling of nutrients helps maintain a very delicate ecosystem in the ocean.