What happens to the amount of available energy in the pyramid as it moves up through the different levels?
Responses
A It increases.It increases.
B It decreases.It decreases.
C It remains the same.It remains the same.
D It decreases, then increases.
B It decreases.
B It decreases.
The correct answer is B) It decreases.
The amount of available energy in a pyramid decreases as it moves up through the different levels. This is known as the "10% rule" or the "ecological pyramid". It is a concept in ecology that illustrates the transfer of energy from one trophic level to another in a food chain or food web.
Here's how you can understand why the amount of available energy decreases in a pyramid:
1. The base of the pyramid represents the producers, such as plants or algae, which are the primary source of energy in an ecosystem. They can convert sunlight into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
2. Moving up the pyramid, the next level represents the primary consumers, such as herbivores, that feed directly on the producers. As they consume the producers, they obtain only a portion of the energy stored in the plant or algae biomass. This is due to metabolic processes and energy losses through activities like movement and reproduction.
3. The energy available to the next trophic level, which consists of secondary consumers (carnivores or omnivores), is further reduced. This is because they receive energy not only from the producers but also from the energy loss of the primary consumers they consume.
4. As you move higher up the pyramid, the energy available to each subsequent trophic level continues to decrease due to energy losses and a decrease in biomass from one level to another.
In summary, the energy available to each trophic level decreases as you move up through the levels of the pyramid. This is due to energy loss and inefficient transfer from one level to the next, resulting in a smaller amount of energy being available for organisms at higher trophic levels.