A team of ecologists observed feeding patterns of several populations in the desert. The energy pyramid shown below depicts the feeding patterns the ecologist observed.

energy pyramid

Which of the following best explains the difference in the amount of available energy in the trophic levels of the desert ecosystem?

A. There is less energy available in the producers because their tissues are less dense than those at higher trophic levels.

B. There is more energy available in the second trophic level because less energy is needed for hunting compared to the higher trophic levels.

C. There is more available energy in the birds of prey because they have greater muscle mass for storing energy than organisms in lower trophic levels have.

D. There is less available energy in the fourth trophic level because of the loss of energy through metabolism in each of the lower trophic levels.

D. There is less available energy in the fourth trophic level because of the loss of energy through metabolism in each of the lower trophic levels.

Explanation:

Each successive trophic level contains about ten percent of the available energy from the previous trophic level. The other ninety percent is lost as heat to the atmosphere through metabolism by the organisms in that level. Therefore, there will be much less energy in the fourth trophic level.

relative dating involves things like higher layers are most recent than rocks lower in the sequence. this can be extended to the known sequence of fossils. rocks containing rabbit fossils are later than those containing dinosaur fossils.  

absolute dating methods mainly use radioactive elements that have known rates of decay and produce recognizable products. for example potassium 40 decays to produce argon. once a rock has solidified the argon is trapped. by measuring the argon and potassium0 you can get an accurate number for the age.  

some other methods are good for archaeological ages. dendrochronology involves recognizing the sequence of tree rings. the orientation of magnetized particles in baked clay can be used to date a fire.

hope this .. .

option number one would be youre best option