AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -If an organism is removed from the food chain, it spoils the flow of energy and nutrient in the ecosystem. It disrupts the balance of the food chain. As a result, the organisms which depend on others for food will die due to starvation.

Detailed explanation-2: -The amount of energy at each trophic level decreases as it moves through an ecosystem. As little as 10 percent of the energy at any trophic level is transferred to the next level; the rest is lost largely through metabolic processes as heat.

Detailed explanation-3: -Key Points. 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: -Producers, also known as autotrophs, make their own food. They make up the first level of every food chain. Autotrophs are usually plants or one-celled organisms.