If a Killer whale is feeding at the fifth trophic level, how much phytoplankton mass is required to add each gram of new mass to

Question

3 years ago

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If a Killer whale is feeding at the fifth trophic level, how much phytoplankton mass is required to add each gram of new mass to

the whale? Assume that 10% of the energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next level. 10,000 grams 50,000 grams 1 gram 1000 grams

Biology

1 answer:

nydimaria [60] · Answer 1 · 2021-12-13T13:31:33+03:00

<span>Since a phytoplankton is on the 1st trophic level. Therefore the energy transfer from the phytoplankton to the Killer whale must be on the 4th power.</span>

To calculate:

Mass of phytoplankton required = 1 gram / (0.1)^4

Mass of phytoplankton required = 10, 000 grams

Therefore, 10, 000 grams of phytoplankton is needed to add 1 gram of mass to the Killer whale.