Question

Write a scientific explanation detailing the transfer of energy through an ecosystem. Using the energy pyramid below, determine how much energy will be transferred to each level of the pyramid if the producers have 1 million kilocalories, and explain where the rest of the energy will go.

Answer 1

Energy is transferred through an ecosystem from lower to higher trophic levels, with only about 10 percent of energy being available to the next level. In the provided energy pyramid, the primary consumers will receive approximately 100,000 kilocalories of energy from the 1 million kilocalories available to the producers.

Step-by-step explanation:

Energy is passed up a food chain or web from lower to higher trophic levels. However, generally only about 10 percent of the energy at one level is available to the next level. The other 90 percent of energy is used for metabolic processes or given off to the environment as heat. This loss of energy explains why there are rarely more than four trophic levels in a food chain or web.

Using the energy pyramid provided, where the producers have 1 million kilocalories, we can calculate the amount of energy transferred to each level. The primary consumers will receive approximately 100,000 kilocalories of energy, which is 10 percent of the energy available to the producers. The rest of the energy will be lost as heat or used for metabolic processes.