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    MARIA LOURDES MARTINEZ
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    Each trophic level in a food chain results in a 90% loss of usable energy as it transfers to the next level, with only 10% retained. This is due to the inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels. As a result, a vegetarian diet is more energy efficient than a meat-based diet because producing meat requires multiple trophic level transfers and greater energy losses compared to directly consuming plants.

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    ENERGY FLOW

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    Each trophic level in a food chain results in a 90% loss of usable energy as it transfers to the next level, with only 10% retained. This is due to the inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels. As a result, a vegetarian diet is more energy efficient than a meat-based diet because producing meat requires multiple trophic level transfers and greater energy losses compared to directly consuming plants.

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    26 views27 pages

    Energy Flow

    Uploaded by

    MARIA LOURDES MARTINEZ
    Each trophic level in a food chain results in a 90% loss of usable energy as it transfers to the next level, with only 10% retained. This is due to the inefficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels. As a result, a vegetarian diet is more energy efficient than a meat-based diet because producing meat requires multiple trophic level transfers and greater energy losses compared to directly consuming plants.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPS, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 27

    Figure 3.

    15
    Generalized pyramid of energy flow showing the decrease in usable
    chemical energy available at each succeeding trophic level in a food
    chain or web. In nature, ecological efficiency varies from 2% to 40%,
    with 10% efficiency being common. This model assumes a 10%
    ecological efficiency (90% loss of usable energy to the environment, in
    the form of low-quality heat) with each transfer from one trophic level to
    another. Question: Why is a vegetarian diet more energy efficient than
    a meat-based diet?
    Phosphorus in the biosphere cycles among the land, ocean sediments,
    and living organisms.

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