Question

The image shows a rain forest ecosystem. The energy from plants, or producers, acts as the starting point of energy in the ecosystem. This energy is transferred to other organisms in the food web. In which two ways is the total amount of energy conserved in the ecosystem?

A. Some energy is transferred to the organisms, and the remaining energy is released into the ecosystem as thermal energy.
B. Bacteria eat the dead bodies of organisms to release the organisms’ stored energy into the atmosphere.
C. Some energy is transferred to the smaller organisms, and the rest is stored in the bodies of larger animals.
D. Some energy is transferred to the organisms, and the rest is released by plants in the form of carbon dioxide.
E. Bacteria eat the dead bodies of organisms, obtain all the energy, and store it in their bodies.

Answer 1

Answer: B or E

Explanation: The cycle goes, producers (a plant) take energy from light, primary consumer (an insect) eats it and takes in that energy, secondary consumer (a herbivore) eats it and the tertiary consumer (a carnivore) eats that and the apex predator (also carnivore) eats it. Any of these can die at any point due to disease.

The real answer is that when an organism dies, decomposers such as fungi or bacteria can break it down allowing the nutrients to go back into the soil and the plants take it up and the cycle continues...

The answers aren't very good here but I reckon the closest one is E