Antarctic krill comprise about 0.7% of the Earth's biomass, the highest of any single animal species.^[1]

As a group, copepods form the largest animal biomass on earth.

The most successful animal species, in terms of biomass, is the Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, with a biomass of probably over 500 million tons, roughly five times the total biomass of humans. However, as a group, the small aquatic crustaceans called copepods form the largest animal biomass on earth.^[3]

The entire earth contains about 75 billion tons of biomass, or 0.00000000126% of the total mass of the Earth. Humans comprise about 100 million tons (0.13%) of the Earth's biomass^[4], domesticated animals about 700 million (1.0%), and crops about 2 billion tons or 2.7% of the Earth's biomass. The total biomass of bacteria is estimated to equal that of plants ^[5].

Biomass may also be a measure of the dried organic mass of an ecosystem. As the trophic level increases, the biomass of each trophic level decreases. That is, producers (grass, trees, scrubs, etc.) have a much higher biomass than animals that consume them (deer, zebras, insects, etc.). The level with the least biomass is the highest predators in the food chain (foxes, eagles, etc.) Biomass is also influenced by net primary productivity (NPP).

See also

• Biota (ecology)
• Ecological pyramid
• Natural organic matter (NOM)
• Water mass

References

External links

• Counting bacteria

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