<P> The energy is passed on from trophic level to trophic level and each time about 90 % of the energy is lost , with some being lost as heat into the environment ( an effect of respiration ) and some being lost as incompletely digested food ( egesta ) . Therefore , primary consumers get about 10 % of the energy produced by autotrophs , while secondary consumers get 1 % and tertiary consumers get 0.1 % . This means the top consumer of a food chain receives the least energy , as a lot of the food chain 's energy has been lost between trophic levels . This loss of energy at each level limits typical food chains to only four to six links . </P>
<P> The energy is passed on from trophic level to trophic level and each time about 90 % of the energy is lost , with some being lost as heat into the environment ( an effect of respiration ) and some being lost as incompletely digested food ( egesta ) . Therefore , primary consumers get about 10 % of the energy produced by autotrophs , while secondary consumers get 1 % and tertiary consumers get 0.1 % . This means the top consumer of a food chain receives the least energy , as a lot of the food chain 's energy has been lost between trophic levels . This loss of energy at each level limits typical food chains to only four to six links . </P>
who gets the least energy in a food chain
who gets the least energy in a food chain
the top consumer
the top consumer