Question

the total energy at the primary consumer in a food chain is 2,500 kcal. how much energy will the quaternary consumer receive? 0.25 kcal 2.5 kcal 25 kcal 250 kcal

Explanation:

Step1: Recall energy transfer rule

In a food chain, only about 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next. Primary consumer is trophic level 2, quaternary consumer is trophic level 5. So we need to calculate energy transfer over 3 levels (from primary to quaternary: 5 - 2 = 3 levels).

Step2: Calculate energy at each level

Start with primary consumer energy \( E_1 = 2500 \) kcal.
Energy at secondary consumer (\( E_2 \)): \( E_2 = 2500 \times 0.1 = 250 \) kcal.
Energy at tertiary consumer (\( E_3 \)): \( E_3 = 250 \times 0.1 = 25 \) kcal.
Energy at quaternary consumer (\( E_4 \)): \( E_4 = 25 \times 0.1 = 2.5 \) kcal.

Answer:

2.5 kcal