Ecosystems and Food Chains

Core concept

At each trophic (feeding) level, only about 10% of the energy is transferred to the next level, with the remaining 90% lost mainly as heat through metabolic processes like respiration and movement — this '10% law' explains why food chains rarely extend beyond four or five levels, and why there must be many more producers than top predators to sustain an ecosystem's energy needs. Multiple interconnected food chains form a more complex, realistic food web within any given ecosystem.