Question

The energy pyramid below shows a possible amount of energy, in kilocalories, available in the organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem.

According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. If this is true, why is there less energy in the top of the energy pyramid than there is in the bottom of the energy pyramid?
A.
The law of conservation of energy does not apply to ecosystems.
B.
Organisms in the top of the energy pyramid use up energy the fastest.
C.
Energy is lost between each trophic level as heat.
D.
The extra energy in the bottom is slower to reach the top.

Answer 1

[AI-generated answer — Bot GPT 3.5]

C. Energy is lost between each trophic level as heat.

As energy is transferred between trophic levels, some of it is lost as heat through respiration, digestion, and other metabolic processes. This loss of energy results in less energy being available for organisms at higher trophic levels, hence the decrease in energy at the top of the energy pyramid compared to the bottom. This phenomenon is known as the 10% rule, where only about 10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next.