When a consumer eats a producer, 10 percent of the producer’s energy is passed on to the consumer trophic level. What happens to the other 90 percent?(1 point)

Question

Responses

It is used for cell processes or released as heat.
It is used for cell processes or released as heat.

It is used by the producer to pass on to the next trophic level.
It is used by the producer to pass on to the next trophic level.

It is added back to the soil by decomposers.
It is added back to the soil by decomposers.

It is consumed and used by the consumer.

Answer 1

The correct response is:

It is used for cell processes or released as heat.

In ecological energy transfer, approximately 90% of the energy at one trophic level is lost to metabolic processes and as heat, while only about 10% is passed on to the next trophic level.