The primary producers in an aquatic ecosystem produce a total biomass of 3,000 kg

Question

containing 30,000 kcal
of energy. Only 10%
of energy is transferred between trophic levels.

Which answer shows the amount of energy available to secondary consumers?

(1 point)
Responses

3,000 kcal
3000 kcal

300 kcal
300 kcal

3 kcal
3 kcal

30 kcal

Answer 1

To determine the amount of energy available to secondary consumers, we can follow these steps:

1. Find the energy available to primary consumers: Primary producers (plants) produce 30,000 kcal of energy. Since only 10% of energy is transferred between trophic levels, the energy available to primary consumers is: \[ \text{Energy available to primary consumers} = 30,000 \text{ kcal} \times 0.10 = 3,000 \text{ kcal} \]

2. Find the energy available to secondary consumers: Now, we take the energy available to primary consumers (3,000 kcal) and again apply the 10% rule to find the energy available to secondary consumers: \[ \text{Energy available to secondary consumers} = 3,000 \text{ kcal} \times 0.10 = 300 \text{ kcal} \]

Thus, the amount of energy available to secondary consumers is 300 kcal.

The correct response is: 300 kcal.