Question

Why do higher trophic levels in most ecosystems

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Energy available to use in highest trophic level is small

Explanation:

A is the correct answer because in trophic levels, 10% of the energy from the prior level is transferred to the proceeding level.

So for example, 100% of a plant's energy is transferred to its consumer, the consumer can only use 10% of the original amount of energy.

Then the second level consumer can only use 1% of the original amount of energy.

Then, the tertiary consumer can only use .1% of the original amount of energy.

This makes being a higher level consumer less energy efficient than being a lower level consumer, resulting in fewer higher trophic levels.

Answer 2

Answer:

A.Energy available for use to the highest trophic  level is small

Explanation:

As you go up in the trophic levels, only about 10% of the energy gets transferred from one level to the next. For example, the plants can only harvest 1% of the Sun's energy. The primary consumer can only absorb 10% of the energy from the plant he eats, so .1% of the total energy. The secondary consumer can only absorb 10% of the energy he get from eating the primary consumer, so .01%, and so on and so forth. As we climb up the trophic levels, there is less energy available and therefore less organisms.