Why is each level of the energy pyramid smaller than the level directly below it?(1 point)
Responses
Because the sizes of each level show that 10% is consumed by organisms at that level.
Because the sizes of each level show that 10% is consumed by organisms at that level.
Because 10% of the energy at each level moves to the next level and some additional energy is converted to heat.
Because 10% of the energy at each level moves to the next level and some additional energy is converted to heat.
Because 90% of the energy is passed on to the next level to be used by the organisms there.
Because 90% of the energy is passed on to the next level to be used by the organisms there.
Because about 10% of the energy is converted to heat when organisms become ill and another 10% when they die.
The correct answer is:
Because 10% of the energy at each level moves to the next level and some additional energy is converted to heat.
This indicates the principle known as the "10% rule" in ecology, which states that, on average, only about 10% of the energy from organic matter is transferred from one trophic level to the next. The rest of the energy is lost in various ways, such as through metabolic processes, which convert it into heat, and through incomplete digestion and assimilation by organisms. This loss of energy at each trophic level results in smaller amounts of energy available for the organisms at higher levels and thus a smaller size of each successive level of the energy pyramid.