Moving up each trophic level, some energy escapes as heat and to decomposers. The energy available above therefore:
ADisappears
BDecreases
CDoubles up
DStays equal
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Decreases
1. No transfer is perfectly efficient.
2. What is lost at each step cannot be passed on.
3. So the energy available decreases at every level.
_Source: OpenStax Concepts of Biology, Chapter 20, Ecosystems and the Biosphere._
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