Two students were discussing the Mono Lake ecosystem. The first student said, "For a 20-kilogram (kg) coyote to survive, it take
s around 200 kg of Wilson's phalaropes, 400 kg of brine shrimp, and 800 kg of algae!" The second student said, "No, I think it takes even more than that." 1. Which student is correct? What is your reasoning?
The coyote feed on not only phalaropes but many other organisms present in the environment for its survival. There are many other organisms present in the ecosystem such as mice, squirrel, cactus fruit etc. The coyote feeds on phalaropes, the phalaropes feeds on brine shrimp and the brine shrimp feeds on algae for its survival so in this way the ecosystem moves in the forward direction. The coyote feeds on phalaropes so the energy that is present in phalaropes transferred into coyote which only 10 % while the remaining is released in the atmosphere in the form of heat energy.
