what is the reason that a food chain consists of only three to five steps
Answers
Since so little energy is available for the next level of consumers, and for this reason food chains generally consist of only three or four steps. The loss of energy at each step is so great that very little usable energy remains after four trophic levels.
Answer:
A food chain’s length is restricted to just 3 or 4 steps due to energy loss. Moreover, the energy added to the biomass of each trophic level is significantly lower than the one preceding it. This occurs as a result of material wastage from subsequently trophic levels and for the maintenance of various life processes. Consequently, the shorter the food chain, the more energy that is available to the final consumer. A shorter food chain is also considerably more efficient as less energy is lost.
Explanation: