ECOLOGY
ENERGY FLOW AND PRIMARY PRODUCTION
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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limited types of organisms
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energy loss from one level to the next
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limited energy from the sun
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limited amount of food
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Detailed explanation-1: -According to the 10 percent law, the amount of energy decreases at each trophic level, and hence the number of trophic levels in a food chain is limited. The 10% Rule means that when energy is passed in an ecosystem from one trophic level to the next, only ten percent of the energy will be passed on.
Detailed explanation-2: -The different feeding positions in a food chain or web are called trophic levels. Generally, there are no more than four trophic levels because energy and biomass decrease from lower to higher levels.
Detailed explanation-3: -Energy decreases as it moves up trophic levels because energy is lost as metabolic heat when the organisms from one trophic level are consumed by organisms from the next level.
Detailed explanation-4: -Loss of energy at each trophic level is the reason which limits the number of trophic levels in a food chain.
Detailed explanation-5: -On average, only about 10% of the energy stored as biomass in one trophic level-e.g., primary producers-gets stored as biomass in the next trophic level-e.g., primary consumers. Put another way, net productivity usually drops by a factor of ten from one trophic level to the next.