Question

A Great White Shark has 15,000 Kcals of energy to use for hunting each day and needs 13,500 Kcals per day to survive. Using the data in Table #1, which species below would be the most effective to hunt individually for the shark's energy needs?

Table #1:
Species | Number of Prey | Energy Cost per Prey | Energy Available from Prey (kcal) | Net Energy Gained (kcal)
Tuna | 1 | -2000 | 13000 | 12000
Seal | 1 | -5000 | 10000 | 25000
Dolphin | 1 | -7200 | 78000 | 170000

What is your claim?
Select: [Tuna, Seal, Dolphin]

What is your evidence?
Select: [Net Energy Gained, Energy Cost per Prey]

Answer 1

The dolphin is the most effective species for the Great White Shark to hunt to meet its daily energy needs due to the highest net energy gain of 170,000 kcal, despite the higher energy cost per prey compared to tuna and seals.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most effective species for the Great White Shark to hunt individually to meet its energy needs, based on the given data in Table #1, would be the dolphin. The Net Energy Gained for hunting a dolphin is 170,000 kcal, which is significantly higher than the shark's daily requirement of 13,500 kcals. Despite the high Energy Cost per Prey for hunting a dolphin, which is -7200 kcals, the net gain far exceeds the cost, making it the most energy-efficient option compared to hunting tuna or seals.