Final answer:
The energy lost between the trophic levels of the gray rat snake (secondary consumer) and the Cooper’s hawk (tertiary consumer) is approximately 362 kcal/m²/yr, with a trophic level transfer efficiency of about 5.5%, indicating a loss of around 94.5% of energy.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks which value best represents the approximate energy lost between the trophic levels occupied by the gray rat snake and the Cooper’s hawk. Assuming that the gray rat snake is a secondary consumer and the Cooper’s hawk is a tertiary consumer, we can refer to the studies of Howard T. Odum in the Silver Springs ecosystem to get an idea of the energy transfer. According to the studies, secondary consumers generated 383 kcal/m²/yr, while tertiary consumers only generated 21 kcal/m²/yr. Hence, the energy lost can be calculated by subtracting the energy at the tertiary level from that at the secondary level (383 - 21 = 362 kcal/m²/yr). To find the trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE), we use the following formula: (production at present trophic level x 100) / production at previous trophic level. Applying this to our figures, (21 kcal/m²/yr x 100) / 383 kcal/m²/yr gives us a TLTE of approximately 5.5%. This means that when transferring from the gray rat snake to the Cooper’s hawk, approximately 94.5% of the energy is lost.