Question

As energy moves through an ecosystem, only a certain percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. If the producers in the ecosystem have approximately 7,500kcal/m2 available, which of the following would be the best estimate of the energy available to the secondary consumers in this ecosystem?A. 75,000 kcal/m²B. 750 kcal/m²C. 75 kcal/m²D. 7.5 kcal/m²

Answer 1

This is an example of energy transfer through trophic levels.

Trophic levels symbolize the transfer of matter and energy in a trophic chain or network, in which producers (e.g. plants) are consumed by primary consumers and primary consumers by secondary consumers.

Specifically, only 10% of energy is transferred between trophic levels.

Therefore, the available energy for primary consumers would be 10% of 7500 (750) and the available energy for secondary consumers would be 10% of the available energy for primary consumers. Hence, the answer is:

75 kcal/m2 (C).