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True or false: the snake has more energy at his trophic level than the fox?

1) True
2) False

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The statement is false; snakes, generally being lower on the food chain than foxes, would typically have access to more energy at their trophic level due to the energy losses that occur when moving up trophic levels.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement the snake has more energy at his trophic level than the fox is false. According to the principles of trophic levels and energy, energy decreases as it moves up the food chain. This is because only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is passed to the next. The majority of energy is used for metabolism, growth, and repair, and is lost as heat to the environment.

In a typical ecosystem, snakes are often secondary consumers, while foxes may occupy the tertiary consumer level. Since foxes are generally higher in the food chain, they would have access to less energy than snakes because of the energy lost at each trophic level. This idea is represented by the ecological pyramid, which shows that each successive trophic level has less available energy and generally supports a smaller mass of organisms.

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