Figure 21 - Size-based analysis of aquatic food webs

1 The generalized scaling of the total biomass of individuals in a marine food web sorted into logarithmic size bins (e.g., 1 g-10 g, 10 g-100 g), illustrating the biomass " size spectrum. " Body mass spans many orders of magnitude from primary producers to top predators and trophic level increases with body mass owing to size-based predation. The scaling exponent is approximately − 0.1, so the total biomass of smaller organisms tends to be slightly higher than the biomass of larger ones; but smaller organisms have relatively faster turnover times so their production is much higher. The ineffi cient transfer of energy from prey to predators means that production falls by 80-90% at each step in the food chain. Owing to their considerable scope for growth, the same species are found in several size-classes and feed at several trophic levels. Drawings and photographs of organisms courtesy of R. Beckett, S. R. Jennings, and J. H. Nichols.

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Size-based analysis of aquatic food webs - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-generalized-scaling-of-the-total-biomass-of-individuals-in-a-marine-food-web-sorted_fig1_230659949 [accessed 23 Mar 2025]

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Figure 21.1 The generalized scaling of the total biomass of individuals in a marine food web sorted into logarithmic size bins (e.g., 1 g-10 g, 10 g-100 g), illustrating the biomass " size spectrum. " Body mass spans many orders of magnitude from primary producers to top predators and trophic level increases with body mass owing to size-based predation. The scaling exponent is approximately − 0.1, so the total biomass of smaller organisms tends to be slightly higher than the biomass of larger ones; but smaller organisms have relatively faster turnover times so their production is much higher. The ineffi cient transfer of energy from prey to predators means that production falls by 80-90% at each step in the food chain. Owing to their considerable scope for growth, the same species are found in several size-classes and feed at several trophic levels. Drawings and photographs of organisms courtesy of R. Beckett, S. R. Jennings, and J. H. Nichols.

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<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-generalized-scaling-of-the-total-biomass-of-individuals-in-a-marine-food-web-sorted_fig1_230659949"><img src="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simon-Jennings-2/publication/230659949/figure/fig1/AS:568479826419712@1512547560910/The-generalized-scaling-of-the-total-biomass-of-individuals-in-a-marine-food-web-sorted.png" alt="1 The generalized scaling of the total biomass of individuals in a marine food web sorted into logarithmic size bins (e.g., 1 g-10 g, 10 g-100 g), illustrating the biomass " size spectrum. " Body mass spans many orders of magnitude from primary producers to top predators and trophic level increases with body mass owing to size-based predation. The scaling exponent is approximately − 0.1, so the total biomass of smaller organisms tends to be slightly higher than the biomass of larger ones; but smaller organisms have relatively faster turnover times so their production is much higher. The ineffi cient transfer of energy from prey to predators means that production falls by 80-90% at each step in the food chain. Owing to their considerable scope for growth, the same species are found in several size-classes and feed at several trophic levels. Drawings and photographs of organisms courtesy of R. Beckett, S. R. Jennings, and J. H. Nichols."/></a>