In a food pyramid, there is typically less biomass at the top (there are fewer individual tertiary consumers, whereas there are numerous individual producers). Why is there typically less biomass at the top of a food pyramid compared to the base?(1 point)

Question

Responses

Because producers rely on tertiary consumers for energy, limiting the growth of producer populations at the base of the food pyramid.
Because producers rely on tertiary consumers for energy, limiting the growth of producer populations at the base of the food pyramid.

Because energy is lost at each level of the food chain, less energy is available to support tertiary consumers, resulting in fewer individuals at the top.
Because energy is lost at each level of the food chain, less energy is available to support tertiary consumers, resulting in fewer individuals at the top.

Because tertiary consumers store more energy than producers, leading to less energy loss and smaller populations at the top of the food pyramid.
Because tertiary consumers store more energy than producers, leading to less energy loss and smaller populations at the top of the food pyramid.

Because tertiary consumers are more efficient at energy transfer, allowing them to support large populations despite limited energy availability.
Because tertiary consumers are more efficient at energy transfer, allowing them to support large populations despite limited energy availability.

Answer 1

The correct response is:

Because energy is lost at each level of the food chain, less energy is available to support tertiary consumers, resulting in fewer individuals at the top.

This is due to the second law of thermodynamics, where energy is lost as it is transferred from one trophic level to the next, often as heat, which means that less energy is available to support higher trophic levels, resulting in less biomass at the top of the food pyramid.