L48 Anthro 150A Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Coevolution, Herbivore
Document Summary
The trophic pyramid: energy flow in biological systems, all life energy is converted sun energy, plants take sun energy and convert it into sugars through photosynthesis, we eat the plants, converting solar energy into offspring and growth. Sun plants (capture 5% of solar energy) herbivores (capture 5% of plant energy) carnivores (capture 5% of herbivore energy) Leaves and structural parts: low quality food, low energy dense food, quality=energy/gram. Gum/sap: small primates eat gum, energy rich but difficult to eat, marmosets and tamarins tend to specialize. Meat (including insects: the highest quality food in terms of energy per gram is meat, not many primates eat meat, but some do, small primates have higher metabolic demands so they need high, energy-rich food, will eat insects. All animals do not eat meat all the time because meat is rare while leaves are widespread: trade off between scarcity and energy quality.
