Consider the food chain of grass → grasshopper → mouse → snake → hawk. About how much of the chemical energy fixed by photosynthesis of the grass (100 percent) is available to the hawk, assuming a 10% trophic efficiency?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Trophic efficiency is 10%, so only 10% of the energy is transferred to each trophic level. Therefore, the hawk, which is at the top of the food chain, will have only 0.01% of the original energy fixed by photosynthesis.

Consider the Food Chain of Grass → Grasshopper → Mouse