At the producer level, if available energy is measured to be 300,000 kcal, what will the available energy be at the tertiary consumer level?

Question

Group of answer choices

30 kcal

300 kcal

3,000 kcal

30,000 kcal

300,000 kcal

Answer 1

To determine the available energy at the tertiary consumer level, we can apply the concept of energy transfer in an ecological pyramid, where energy decreases by approximately 90% at each trophic level due to energy loss through metabolic processes, heat, and waste.

If the available energy at the producer level is 300,000 kcal and we assume that roughly 10% of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level (which is typically the case), we can calculate the energy available at each level:

1. From producer to primary consumer:

   • \( 300,000 \text{ kcal} \times 0.10 = 30,000 \text{ kcal} \)

2. From primary consumer to secondary consumer:

   • \( 30,000 \text{ kcal} \times 0.10 = 3,000 \text{ kcal} \)

3. From secondary consumer to tertiary consumer:

   • \( 3,000 \text{ kcal} \times 0.10 = 300 \text{ kcal} \)

Thus, the available energy at the tertiary consumer level would be 300 kcal.