In a food pyramid, there is typically less biomass at the top (i.e., there are very few individual tertiary consumers, whereas there are numerous individual producers). In three sentences, explain this phenomenon, citing evidence relating to energy flow and how plants support ecosystems.(4 points)
The decrease in biomass at higher trophic levels in a food pyramid can be attributed to the inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels. According to the 10% rule, only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is transferred to the next, with the rest being lost as heat. This means that as energy is transferred from producers to herbivores to carnivores, there is less energy available to support higher trophic levels, resulting in fewer individuals at the top of the pyramid. Additionally, since plants are the primary producers in most ecosystems, they form the base of the food chain and support the entire ecosystem by converting sunlight into energy through photosynthesis, making energy available for all other organisms in the ecosystem.
