Question

If a producer had 100 calories, how much of that energy would be left over by the time it is passed up a food chain to a secondary consumer?

Choose frome the below options:

A. 1 calorie
B. 10 calories
C. 100 calories

Answer 1

About 1 calorie would be left over by the time the energy from a producer reaches a secondary consumer in a food chain, due to the trophic level transfer efficiency where only 10% of energy is passed on to the next level.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a producer had 100 calories, by the time this energy has passed up a food chain to a secondary consumer, there would be much less available due to the loss of energy at each trophic level. Considering the trophic level transfer efficiency, which states that on average only about 10 percent of the energy at one level is available to the next level, a secondary consumer would typically receive about 1 calorie. The remaining 90 percent of energy is used for metabolic processes, or is given off to the environment as heat.