The ecological efficiency at each trophic level of a particular ecosystem is 10%.If the green plants of the ecosystem capture 1000 units of energy,which pair of numbers approximates the units of energy that will be available to support herbivores and the units of energy that will be available to support carnivores?
A) 100; 10
B) 1 000; 100
C) 10; 1
D) 100; 100

Question

The ecological efficiency at each trophic level of a particular ecosystem is 10%.If the green plants of the ecosystem capture 1000 units of energy,which pair of numbers approximates the units of energy that will be available to support herbivores and the units of energy that will be available to support carnivores? 
A) 100; 10 
B) 1 000; 100 
C) 10; 1 
D) 100; 100

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the ecological efficiency is 10%, only 100 units of energy will be available to support herbivores (10% of 1000) and only 10 units of energy will be available to support carnivores (10% of 100). Therefore, the pair of numbers that approximates this is 100 for herbivores and 10 for carnivores, which is option C. The other options either overestimate or underestimate the available energy based on the given ecological efficiency.

The Ecological Efficiency at Each Trophic Level of a Particular