In a food chain, energy moves from one level of living things to another. These levels are called trophic levels, and they include producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.
Producers: These are mostly plants. They take sunlight and change it into energy through a process called photosynthesis. Only about 1% of the sunlight they capture is used to help them grow and reproduce.
Primary Consumers: These are animals that eat plants, known as herbivores. When they eat plants, they only get about 10% of the energy from the plants. This is called the 10% rule. It means that 90% of the energy is lost as heat when the animals use it in their bodies.
Secondary Consumers: These animals eat the herbivores. They, too, get about 10% of the energy stored in the animals they eat. Just like before, about 90% of that energy is lost.
Tertiary Consumers: These are the top carnivores, and they also get roughly 10% of the energy from the animals they hunt.
When you look at the whole process, only about 0.1% of the original sunlight energy that producers captured ends up available for the tertiary consumers. This shows just how much energy is lost at each level in the food chain. It highlights how energy transfer isn’t very efficient in nature.
In a food chain, energy moves from one level of living things to another. These levels are called trophic levels, and they include producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.
Producers: These are mostly plants. They take sunlight and change it into energy through a process called photosynthesis. Only about 1% of the sunlight they capture is used to help them grow and reproduce.
Primary Consumers: These are animals that eat plants, known as herbivores. When they eat plants, they only get about 10% of the energy from the plants. This is called the 10% rule. It means that 90% of the energy is lost as heat when the animals use it in their bodies.
Secondary Consumers: These animals eat the herbivores. They, too, get about 10% of the energy stored in the animals they eat. Just like before, about 90% of that energy is lost.
Tertiary Consumers: These are the top carnivores, and they also get roughly 10% of the energy from the animals they hunt.
When you look at the whole process, only about 0.1% of the original sunlight energy that producers captured ends up available for the tertiary consumers. This shows just how much energy is lost at each level in the food chain. It highlights how energy transfer isn’t very efficient in nature.