2.2.14—Limits on trophic levels

Because each transfer leaves less net biomass, eventually too little usable energy remains to support another trophic population.

Respiration, uneaten food and unabsorbed material reduce transfer. ‘About 10%’ is an order-of-magnitude guide, not a fixed law.

If 1,000 units reach producers and only a fraction becomes herbivore biomass, several further transfers leave little support for a top predator.

No; prey abundance and production constrain the whole chain.

Ten percent is not a universal fixed efficiency.