Question

Explain how entropy relates to the amount of energy that is available in the different trophic levels of a food chain.
short paragraph

Answer 1

Entropy, via the second law of thermodynamics, increases whenever energy is transformed, so as energy moves up a food chain much of it is dissipated as heat and metabolic waste and becomes less available for doing biological work. That rising entropy means the usable (free) energy at each successive trophic level is lower—only a fraction (often ~10%) of the energy consumed is converted into biomass for the next level—so higher trophic levels receive less energy and support less biomass.