BI-1963
Energy losses in food chains
Biology · Secondary 4 · Hard · Energy losses in food chains
A scientist measures the total biomass of organisms in a simple food chain: grass → grasshoppers → frogs. The field contains 500 kg of grass, 50 kg of grasshoppers and 5 kg of frogs. Which statement best explains the decrease in biomass at higher trophic levels?
- Organisms at higher trophic levels eat less food than those below.
- Energy is lost at each trophic level, so less biomass can be supported at higher levels.
- Photosynthesis only occurs in producers, so consumers cannot gain biomass.
- Decomposers remove biomass only from higher trophic levels.
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