In a food chain. Why would the tertiary or the final consumer get the least amount of energy from the producers and not the decomposers?

Question

I’ve come upon this question on a test today and answered “decomposers”. I was then told that the final consumer was the right answer. I don’t understand since what eats those final consumers are the decomposers when they die so in my mind I think they would get least amount of energy from producers. I am confused.

In: Biology

Answer 1

Maybe it’s about efficiency. Like, consider humans, around 20-30% of what we eat turns to poop. So that means there’s a lot of energy wastage. In contrast, plants take in sunlight, carbon dioxide, and other nutrients from the soil and fashion it into energy through their bodies, and their waste is just oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water.