Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ORIENTAL MINDORO

Name: ___________________________________ Date:_________________________

Grade & Section: __________________________ Score: ________________________

Science 8
Fourth Quarter
Week 5

Lesson: Biodiversity And Transfer Of Energy Through The Trophic Level

MELCs: Explain the advantage of high biodiversity in maintaining the stability of an ecosystem.
Describe the transfer of energy through the trophic levels.
Key Concept:

The variety of life on earth, its biological diversity is commonly referred to as

biodiversity.
The number of species of plants, animals and microorganisms, the enormous
diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as
dessert, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth.
Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to
recognize this as being integral to any approach to preserving biodiversity. Almost all
cultures have their roots in our biological diversity in some way or form.
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how
Biodiversity is important not only for the variety of beautiful and interesting species it
small, all have an important role to play.
offers us, but it is also very important and vital to the stability of an ecosystem and entire
For example,
planet. Ecosystem stability is the ability of an ecosystem to maintain a steady state, even
 a large number of plant species means a greater variety of crops.
after a stress or disturbance has occurred. In order for an ecosystem to be considered stable,
 Greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms.
it needs to have mechanisms in place that help it return to its original state after a
 Healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of
disturbance occurs.
disasters.
All living things require energy in one form or another since energy is required by most,
Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and
complex, metabolic pathways; life itself is an energy-driven process.
water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and many ecosystem
Trophic transfer refers to the phenomenon by which elements, including contaminants
services.
are transferred from on trophic level to another. The stored energy is transferred to other
organisms for their survival. When people and other organisms eat plants, chemical energy
from food substances is transferred to their bodies. Energy moves from one trophic level to
another. This means that energy flows from one organism to another in the ecosystem.
Organisms that consume food for their energy supply are called consumers.
Energy decreases as it moves up trophic level because energy is lost as metabolic heat
when the organism from one trophic level is consumed by organism from the next level.
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ORIENTAL MINDORO

Activity 1:
What is the importance of biodiversity to ecosystem

Identify the following ecosystem. Write HB if it is belong to high biodiversity and LB if it is

low biodiversity. Write your answer in a separate paper.
____________1. Coral Reef
____________2. Rice field
____________3. North pole
____________4. Dessert
____________5. Forest

Guide questions:
1. Which ecosystems have high biodiversity? Low biodiversity?
2. In coral reef ecosystem, what biotic components are present and describe some
relationships and interactions that occur among these biotic components.
3. Why is high biodiversity advantageous over low biodiversity?
4. What is the importance of biodiversity to ecosystems?

Activity 2:
Activity 2: My Backyard Biodiversity
How many different types (species) can you find in your yard?
TREES: hint: look for different types of leaves or bark on your trees

TREES: total species=_______ total items=__________

PLANTS: hint: look for flower, bushes, grass and weds

PLANTS: total species=_______ total items=__________

ANIMALS: hint: what animals visit your yard or live there

ANIMALS: total species=_______ total items=__________

INSECTS AND BUGS: hint: look for flying, crawling and burrowing insects and spiders.

INSECTS AND BUGS: total species=_______ total items=__________

 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ORIENTAL MINDORO

Biodiversity index = total # of different species

= ___________________ =
total # of living items

Activity 3
How do you identify the components of a food chain in an ecosystem?

Objectives:
After performing this activity, you should be able to:
 Distinguish between producers and consumers
 Analyze the transfer of energy from one organism to another.
 Construct a food chain in a given ecosystem.

Procedure:
1. Read an article about “Monfort Bat Cave”
2. Read and answer the following questions and write your answer on the space
provided.
Monfort Bat Cave
The Island of Samal, part of Davao del Norte Province, is off the coast of Mindanao. In this
island is the Monfort Bat Cave which is approximately 245 feet(75 meters) long and has five
entrances. Bats cover 75 percent of its ceilings and walls. An estimated 1.8 million bats, the largest
known population of Geoffrey’s rousette fruit bats in the world, are overloading Monfort Bat Cave on
the Philippines’ Samal Island.

Geoffrey’s rousette fruit bats feed on fruit and nectar. Their role as pollinators and seed
dispersers is essential in sustaining Philippine forests, including such important commercial fruits as
durian. Each bat consumes 11/2 to 3 times its body weight nightly in fruit and nectar. This colony
could consume 550tons (500,000 kilograms) of nectar from durian and other trees, pollinating an
incredible number of flowers.

Worldwide, cave-dwelling bats are in alarming decline due to human disturbance and destruction of
their cave roots. In some areas, including Samal Island, bats are captured and eaten by humans.
Colonies like the one in Monfort Bat Cave are now rare and in urgent need of protection. Their loss
would endanger the health of forests and human economies.

The bat’s colony should be able to survive natural predators-crows, rat, 10 foot(3meters)
pythons, and occasional monitor lizards- just as bat populations do elsewhere. Unfamed dogs and
cats, however, also seem to do bat hunting at Monfort Bat Cave

@Bat Conservation Internationl,www.batcon.org

Questions:
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ORIENTAL MINDORO
1. What are the organisms found in the surrounding area of Monfort Bat Cave?
List them down in the table below.

Table 1: Organisms found in Monfort Bat Cave

Plants Animals

2. What group/s of organisms are considered as producers?

3. What part of the durian trees and other trees served as food for the bats?

4. The population of cave-dwelling bats is declining because they are being eaten
by other organisms. What are these organisms that feed on bats?

5. Among the organisms that feed on bats, are there organisms that possibly feed
on the predators of bats? ______Yes__________No

Divide the organism into the following categories as shown in the table below.

Table 2
Producers 1st Order Consumer 2nd Order Consumer

Based on Table 2, construct a food chain with at least 3 organisms representing

the producer, 1st order consumer and 2nd order consumer.
Energy from the Sun
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ORIENTAL MINDORO

Producer 1st order Consumer 2nd order consumer

Activity 3: Find me
Answer the following questions. You may choose your answer from the word
inside the box.
Biodiversity flooding climate change gasses

Community habitats equator resources

__________1. Some places have more of a variety of living things than others- this
is called____.
__________2. Examples of ____________ are rainforests, deserts, grasslands,
wetlands, tundra, salt marshes, coral reefs etc.
__________3. The most biodiversity is found in habitats in warm, wet places- closer
to the _____________.
__________4. A diverse ___________ which is many different populations of living
things, helps keep an ecosystem healthy with stable food webs.
__________5. Biodiversity also helps ecosystems survive changing temperatures
and rainfall resulting from ____________.
__________6. Healthy, diverse forests absorb greenhouse ____________ created by
human industry.
__________7. Human get _______ from wild habitats.
__________8. Healthy coastal habitats protect us from storm surges and ________.

Activity 4

Food Chains, Food Webs, and Energy Pyramid worksheet

Using the following food chain, answer the questions below.

Grass  Rabbit  Fox

1. What type of organism is the grass?

 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ORIENTAL MINDORO
2. Which animal is an herbivore or primary consumer?

3. What would happen to the population of rabbits, if the population of foxes increased ? Why?

4. What trophic level does the fox represent?

5. Construct a food chain in the correct order using the information in the chart. Then label the producer,
primary consumer, secondary consumer, and tertiary consumer.

Organism Food Source

owl snake
snake squirrel

Oak Tree NA
Squirrel nuts

Key to Correction

Activity 1 What is the importance of biodiversity to ecosystem

1.HB 2:
Activity
2.LB My Backyard Biodiversity
3.LB
Answer may vary
4.LB
5.HB
 Activity 3
1.
Plants Animals
Durian bats
trees Republic of the Philippines
Other crows
trees
Department of Education
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ORIENTAL MINDORO
rats
pythons
Activity 4
1. Producer Monitor lizards
2. Rabbit Dogs(untamed)
Cat will
3.The populations of rabbits (untamed)
go down or decrease because so many fox(_predators) will be eating them.
humans
4. Third
2. durians trees and other trees
3. nectar, fruits
5. Oak Tree Squirrel Snake Owl
4. crows, rats, pythons, monitor lizards, cats(untamed),dogs(untamed), human
5.YES
6.
Producer 1st order 2nd order
s consumer consumer
Durian bats crows
trees
References
Other rats
tress
Book
pythons
Science 8 Learner’s Module , Department of Education
Monitor lizards
Cats(untamed)
Electronic Resources Dogs(untamed)
humna
Based onwww.globalissues.org
the table 2, construct a food chain with at least 3 organisms representing
the producer 1st order consumer and 2nd order comsumer.
Energy from the sun Durian Trees bats pythons

Study.com

Prepared by: JESSANIE C. BILLONES

Teacher III
MORENTE NHS

Validated by:

Checked by:

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education: MIMAROPA Region

Meralco Avenue, corner St.Paul Road, Pasig City, Phiilippines 1600

Telephone No. (02) 863-14070