Grasses are the dominant producers in the prairie ecosystem. Mice eat the grass seeds, snakes eat the mice, and hawks eat the snakes. The mass of a hawk is around 500 grams. In this ecosystem, how many hawks can be supported by 250,000 kilograms of producers? Recall that 1 kilogram is equivalent to 1,000 grams. (1 point) Responses 250 250 500 500 0.5 0.5 5,000
To calculate the number of hawks that can be supported by 250,000 kilograms of producers, we first need to determine the amount of energy available from the producers.
If 250,000 kilograms of producers is equivalent to 250,000,000 grams (since 1 kilogram = 1,000 grams), and grasses are the dominant producers in the prairie ecosystem, then we can estimate the total energy available from the producers.
Let's say a mouse consumes 10 grams of grass seeds to survive, then the energy available from the producers to support mice would be 250,000,000 / 10 = 25,000,000 mice.
If snakes eat the mice, and let's say a snake consumes 10 mice to survive, then the energy available from the producers to support snakes would be 25,000,000 / 10 = 2,500,000 snakes.
If hawks eat the snakes, and let's say a hawk consumes 10 snakes to survive, then the energy available from the producers to support hawks would be 2,500,000 / 10 = 250,000 hawks.
Therefore, 250,000 hawks can be supported by 250,000 kilograms of producers in this ecosystem.
The answer is 250.