Question

a tiny rocky island in the south pacific is home to a very small food chain. coconut palms grow on the island and drop coconuts. the coconuts are eaten by coconut crabs. the coconut crabs are then eaten by seals. according to an ecological energy pyramid, the seals would receive about ______ of the energy from the coconuts.
a 0.1%
b 1%
c 10%
d 100%

Explanation:

Step1: Recall Energy Pyramid Rule

In an ecological energy pyramid, each trophic level typically receives about 10% of the energy from the previous level.

Step2: Identify Trophic Levels

- Trophic Level 1: Coconut palms (producers) - energy = 100% (of their own energy production, but for the next level, coconut crabs get ~10% of palms' energy).
- Trophic Level 2: Coconut crabs - receive ~10% of the energy from coconut palms.
- Trophic Level 3: Seals - receive ~10% of the energy from coconut crabs.

Step3: Calculate Energy for Seals

To find the energy seals receive from coconuts (which is the energy from the first level, palms, through crabs), we calculate the percentage: \( 10\% \times 10\% = 1\% \)? Wait, no—wait, the coconut palms are the producers (100% of their energy is available to the next level). Coconut crabs (primary consumers) get ~10% of the palms' energy. Then seals (secondary consumers) get ~10% of the crabs' energy. So from the coconuts (which have the energy from the palms), the crabs have 10% of the coconuts' energy, and seals have 10% of the crabs' energy. So \( 10\% \text{ of } 10\% = 1\% \)? Wait, no, maybe I messed up. Wait, the question is "the seals would receive about ______ of the energy from the coconuts". The coconuts are the food for crabs, so crabs get 10% of coconut energy. Then seals get 10% of crab energy. So from coconuts, seals get \( 0.1 \times 0.1 = 0.01 = 1\% \)? Wait, no, wait—wait, the 10% rule is per trophic level. So producer (palms) → primary consumer (crabs): 10% of palms' energy goes to crabs. Then primary consumer (crabs) → secondary consumer (seals): 10% of crabs' energy goes to seals. So the energy from the coconuts (which is the energy the palms put into the coconuts) – so the crabs get 10% of coconut energy, seals get 10% of crab energy. So seals get \( 10\% \times 10\% = 1\% \) of the coconut's energy? Wait, but the options are 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 100%. Wait, maybe the trophic levels are: palms (producer) → coconuts (part of producer, but maybe considered as the energy source for crabs), crabs (primary consumer), seals (secondary consumer). So from producer to primary: 10%, primary to secondary: 10%. So total from producer to secondary is 10% × 10% = 1%? Wait, but maybe the coconuts are the producer's energy, so crabs get 10% of coconut energy, seals get 10% of crab energy. So seals get 1% of coconut energy? But the option A is 0.1%, B is 1%, C is 10%, D is 100%. Wait, maybe I made a mistake. Wait, maybe the food chain is palms → coconuts (but coconuts are part of palms, so same as palms) → crabs → seals. So producer (palms) energy: 100%. Crabs (primary) get 10% of palms' energy. Seals (secondary) get 10% of crabs' energy. So from the coconuts (which have the palms' energy), the crabs have 10% of coconut energy, seals have 10% of crab energy. So seals have 1% of coconut energy? But option B is 1%, so that's the answer? Wait, but maybe the 10% rule is applied twice: first from palms to crabs (10%), then crabs to seals (10%), so total from palms to seals is 1%, but the question is from coconuts. Since coconuts are the energy source for crabs, the energy in coconuts is the energy that the palms put into them, so crabs get 10% of coconut energy, seals get 10% of crab energy. So seals get 1% of coconut energy. So the answer is B (1%). Wait, but let's check again. The 10% rule: each trophic level passes on about 10% of its energy to the next. So producer (100%) → primary consumer (10%) → secondary consumer (1%). So secondary consumer (seals) has 1% of the producer's energy. Since the coconuts are the producer's energy (palms), the seals get 1% of the coconut's energy. So the correct option is B.1%.

Answer:

B. 1%