What percentage of the energy fixed by plants is available to the lion that eats the gazelle?

The energy transfer from plants to the lion that eats the gazelle involves multiple steps and each step in an ecosystem's food chain involves a loss of energy. To understand the percentage of energy available to the lion, we need to consider the concept of trophic levels and energy transfer efficiency.

1. Plants represent the primary producers and form the first trophic level. They convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis.

2. Herbivores, like gazelles, eat the plants and are considered the primary consumers or the second trophic level.

3. Carnivores, such as lions, eat the herbivores and are known as the secondary consumers or the third trophic level.

In ecology, it is generally estimated that each step in the food chain only transfers about 10% of the energy to the next level. This is known as the 10% Rule. The rest of the energy is lost as heat, used for metabolic processes, or goes into parts of the plant that are not eaten.

So, if we start with 100% of the energy fixed by the plants:

When the gazelle eats the plants, it receives about 10% of that energy (the rest is lost). - When the lion eats the gazelle, it receives about 10% of the energy contained in the gazelle.

To calculate the energy transfer from plants to lion: (10% of 10%) = 0.10 * 0.10 = 0.01 or 1%

Therefore, approximately 1% of the energy fixed by plants is available to the lion that eats the gazelle.