Question

In an ecosystem, each trophic level has less energy available to it than the previous trophic
level, because
(a) At each trophic level, energy is retained as body heat
(b) At each trophic level, there is respiratory loss of energy
At each trophic level, much energy is consumed by organism in digestion
(d) None of these​

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

Energy decreases as it moves up trophic levels because energy is lost as metabolic heat when the organisms from one trophic level are consumed by organisms from the next level. Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) measures the amount of energy that is transferred between trophic levels.

The amount of energy at each trophic level decreases as it moves through an ecosystem. As little as 10 percent of the energy at any trophic level is transferred to the next level; the rest is lost largely through metabolic processes as heat.

The amount of energy at each trophic level decreases as it moves through an ecosystem. As little as 10 percent of the energy at any trophic level is transferred to the next level; the rest is lost largely through metabolic processes as heat. If a grassland ecosystem has 10,000 kilocalories (kcal) of energy concentrated in vegetation, only about 1,000 kcal will be transferred to primary consumers, and very little (only 10 kcal) will make it to the tertiary level. Energy pyramids such as this help to explain the trophic structure of an ecosystem: the number of consumer trophic levels that can be supported is dependent on the size and energy richness of the producer level.