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)

Question

Responses

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

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

There will be less organic matter available.
There will be less organic matter available.

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

Answer 1

The correct answer is: There will be less organic matter available.

This is because, in a food chain, energy and organic matter are lost at each trophic level due to factors such as metabolism and inefficiencies in energy transfer. Generally, around 90% of the energy is lost as you move from one trophic level to the next, leading to less organic matter being available in consumers (like the mouse) compared to the producers (like the plant).