Question

Suppose a plant is eaten by a mouse, the mouse is consumed by a snake, and the snake is in turn consumed by a hawk. What could be assumed about the level of available organic matter in the mouse versus the plant?(1 point)
Responses

There will be more organic matter available.
There will be more organic matter available.

Organic matter does not transfer between the plant and the mouse.
Organic matter does not transfer between the plant and the mouse.

They both have the same amount of organic matter.
They both have the same amount of organic matter.

There will be less organic matter available.

Answer 1

There will be less organic matter available.

This is because as energy and organic matter transfer from one trophic level to the next in an ecological pyramid, approximately 90% of the energy is lost at each level due to metabolic processes, heat loss, and other factors. Thus, the mouse would have less organic matter available compared to the plant.