What happens to the energy as it moves up the trophic levels?

As energy moves up the trophic levels in an ecosystem, it decreases in availability, which is accurately reflected in the chosen answer. This phenomenon is largely due to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that energy transformations are not 100% efficient. When energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next—say, from plants (producers) to herbivores (primary consumers) and then to carnivores (secondary consumers)—much of the energy is lost to metabolic processes, like respiration, which converts energy into heat.

Consequently, as you move from one trophic level to the next, only about 10% of the energy is typically passed on to the following level. This results in a significant decrease in energy availability as you go higher up the food chain. Therefore, with each increase in trophic level, there are fewer organisms that can be supported, highlighting the limitation in energy transfer.

Other options do not effectively describe the energy dynamics in an ecosystem. The idea that energy is converted into biomass can happen but doesn't capture the overall behavior of energy transfer. Energy increasing by 100% and remaining constant contradict the fundamental rules governing energy flow in ecosystems. The notion that energy remains constant disregards the natural losses that