In an ecosystem, the 10% of energy available for transfer from one trophic level to the next is in the form of chemical energy.
Explanation:
Chemical energy:
This is the type of energy stored in the chemical bonds of organic molecules within organisms, which is used for their metabolic processes.
Heat energy:
While some energy is lost as heat during energy transfer between trophic levels, this is not the primary form of energy transferred, and it’s the lost energy not the transferred energy.
Light energy:
Plants capture light energy from the sun to produce chemical energy through photosynthesis. However, once the energy is stored chemically, it is no longer considered light energy.
Mechanical energy:
Mechanical energy is the energy of motion, which is not the primary form of energy transfer between trophic levels.