write a short note on 10% law.

As we pass from one trophic level to the next, only 10% of energy is transferred from the first trophic level to the next. This is because a lot of energy is lost to the surroundings and rest is utilised by the organism.

We can understand this better using an example.

When green plants are eaten by primary consumers, lot of energy is lost as heat to the environment. Some energy is used by the consumer into doing work and digestion whereas rest is used for growth and reproduction. About 10% of the eaten food is turned into its body and made available to the next level of consumers. So the actual energy passing to the next trophic level is only 10%.