Question

valeria is studying a small grassland ecosystem that includes a barn owl population. barn owls are considered raptors - specialized hunters at the top of the food chain, which means that they need to eat prey animals to survive. in england, barn owls hunt in the open grassland for small mammals (warm - blooded, furry animals). specifically, owls hunt field voles, wood mice, and shrews. field voles eat grass, while wood mice consume berries, seeds, shrubs, and other plants. 1. valeria is using the energy pyramid below to explain the flow of energy through the grassland ecosystem. write a statement about the amount of usable energy transferred between primary consumers and secondary consumers. use the 10% rule in your answer!

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the 10% energy - transfer rule

Only about 10% of the usable energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. Primary consumers are at the second trophic level and secondary consumers are at the third trophic level.

Step2: Calculate the energy transfer

If primary consumers have 100 kcal of energy (assuming they get 10% of the 1000 kcal from producers), then secondary consumers, which eat primary consumers, will get 10% of the energy of primary consumers. So, secondary consumers will get 10% of 100 kcal, which is 10 kcal.

Answer:

The amount of usable energy transferred from primary consumers to secondary consumers is 10% of the energy of primary consumers. So, if primary consumers have a certain amount of energy obtained from producers, secondary consumers will receive 10% of that amount. For example, if primary consumers have 100 kcal of energy (derived from 1000 kcal of producers' energy following the 10% rule), secondary consumers will get 10 kcal.