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When you picture the lowest levels of the food chain, you might imagine
herbivores happily munching on lush, living green plants. But this
idyllic image leaves out a huge (and slightly less appetizing) source of
nourishment: dead stuff. John C. Moore details the "brown food chain,"
explaining how such unlikely delicacies as pond scum and animal poop
contribute enormous amounts of energy to our ecosystems.
Via Eric L Berlow
This is the first lesson in our Ecology Series in collaboration with TED Ed . The series focuses on networks in ecology. This one by John Moore explores the wonderful world of detritus. Most of us know that nature 'recycles' dead parts - but this lesson highlights that when you scale this process to the entire ecosystem, dead stuff, and 'brown' food chains, are an unexpectedly huge source of energy that fuels most ecosystems.