SSC MTS EXAM

Detailed explanation-1: -Energy is transferred between trophic levels when one organism eats another and gets the energy-rich molecules from its prey’s body. However, these transfers are inefficient, and this inefficiency limits the length of food chains.

Detailed explanation-2: -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-3: -(iii) The length of food chains is generally limited to 3−4 trophic levels due to energy loss. (iv) The length of food chains may vary from 2 to 8 trophic levels.

Detailed explanation-4: -The amount of energy available to one trophic level is limited by the amount stored by the level below. Because energy is lost in the transfer from one level to the next, there is successively less total energy as you move up trophic levels.