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10% Rule

Definition

The 10% rule is a principle in ecology that states that only about 10% of the energy available at one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level. This means that as you move up the food chain, only a small fraction of the energy from the lower trophic levels is passed on.

Analogy

Imagine you have a bag of candy and you want to share it with your friends. You start by giving each friend 10% of the candy in your bag. Then, those friends give 10% of what they received to their own friends, and so on. Eventually, after several rounds, there's very little candy left because each time only a small portion gets passed on.

Related terms

Trophic Levels: Trophic levels are different positions in a food chain or food web where organisms obtain their energy. Each level represents a transfer of energy from one organism to another.

Energy Pyramid: An energy pyramid is a graphical representation of how energy flows through an ecosystem. It shows the decreasing amount of available energy as you move up each trophic level.

Biomagnification: Biomagnification refers to the process where certain substances (such as toxins or pollutants) become more concentrated in organisms higher up in the food chain. This occurs because each organism accumulates all the substances consumed by its prey over time.