Ecology, Ecosystems, and Environmental Management
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Free Biology Q & A Practice 1 of 5 free exam-style exercises in this topic
The diagram below shows the energy (net productivity) passing through each trophic level of a grassland ecosystem in one year.

sunlight reaching plants: 1 500 000 kJ m⁻² yr⁻¹ Producers (grasses)87 000 kJ m⁻² yr⁻¹ Primary consumers (insects)14 000 kJ m⁻² yr⁻¹ Secondary consumers (frogs)1 600 kJ m⁻² yr⁻¹ Tertiary consumers (snakes)90 kJ m⁻² yr⁻¹ At every level, energy is lost as heat from respiration, and in uneaten parts, faeces and excretion, to decomposers


What is the efficiency of energy transfer from primary consumers to secondary consumers, and why is a fifth trophic level unlikely in this ecosystem?
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