What percentage of the energy from the grass would the hawks get in the trophic level pyramid of a food chain
To determine the percentage of energy that hawks would receive in a trophic level pyramid of a food chain, we need to understand the concept of energy transfer between trophic levels.
A trophic level represents a position in a food chain or ecological pyramid. Each level is occupied by a group of organisms that obtain energy in a similar way. In a typical food chain, plants (such as grass) occupy the first trophic level, known as the primary producers. Herbivores, which consume plants, occupy the second trophic level, followed by carnivores or secondary consumers in the higher trophic levels.
The amount of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next is governed by an ecological rule called the 10% rule. According to this rule, only around 10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The remaining 90% is either lost as heat or used for the organism's metabolic processes.
Therefore, if we consider grass as the primary producer at the first trophic level and hawks as secondary consumers at a higher trophic level, the hawks would receive only approximately 10% of the energy that the grass originally contained.
However, it's important to note that the specific percentage can vary depending on several factors, such as the efficiency of energy transfer and the complexity of the food chain. Nonetheless, the 10% rule provides a general estimation for energy transfer in ecological systems.