What happens to energy as we move from one step to another in a chain or web?

Group of answer choices

Energy increases as we move up the food chain or web

Energy decreases as we move up the food chain or web

1 answer

Energy decreases as we move up the food chain or web. This is due to the inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels, where only about 10% of the energy is passed on to the next level, while the rest is lost as heat and used for metabolic processes.