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 consumed and used by the consumer.
It is consumed and used by the consumer.

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

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.

Answer 1

The correct response is: It is used for cell processes or released as heat.

In ecological energy transfer, typically only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is passed on to the next level, while the rest is used for metabolic processes, maintenance, and is generally lost as heat.