Question

Which of the following is true about the efficiency of energy transfer in an ecosystem?
a.
The more energy the organism requires, the more efficient the energy transfer.
b.
All energy transfers have the same efficiencies.
c.
The less energy the organism requires, the more efficient the energy transfer.
d.
The most efficient energy transfers are in large, warm-blooded animals.

Answer 1

c.

Organisms that require less energy (lower metabolic costs) leave a larger fraction of ingested energy available for growth and reproduction, so more is passed on to the next trophic level. By contrast endotherms and high‑metabolism organisms lose more energy as heat (lowing transfer efficiency), and transfer efficiencies vary by species, trophic interaction and ecosystem (they are not all the same).