The percentage of energy contained in each successive tropic level decreases by about ninety percent because

Answer 1

energy is lost as heat when organisms at each level metabolize and use energy for growth, movement, and other biological processes. Additionally, not all of the energy from lower trophic levels is consumed by organisms at higher trophic levels, as some energy is lost through waste and decomposition. This results in a decrease in energy transfer efficiency as you move up the food chain, leading to a decrease in the percentage of energy contained in each successive trophic level.