The plants in a red-tailed hawk’s food chain produce 3 million kcal of chemical energy per day. How much energy is available to

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The plants in a red-tailed hawk’s food chain produce 3 million kcal of chemical energy per day. How much energy is available to

the hawk’s trophic level, assuming 90% loss at each level?

Biology

1 answer:

enyata [672] · Answer 1 · 2026-02-28T09:56:15+03:00

Energy diminishes at each trophic level, resulting in a 90% loss at every stage. Consequently, only 10% of the energy at one trophic level is passed on to the next, with the remaining energy dissipated as heat.

For instance, if a plant ecosystem starts with 3,000,000 kilocalories (kcal), approximately 300,000 kcal will be available for primary consumers (like grasshoppers). If red-tailed hawks are tertiary consumers in this scenario, they will receive 3000 kcal of energy.