Food chains are sometimes short because
A) only a single species of herbivore feeds on each plant species.
B) local extinction of a species causes extinction of the other species in its food chain.
C) most of the energy in a trophic level is lost as it passes to the next higher level.
D) predator species tend to be less diverse and less abundant than prey species.
E) most producers are inedible.
Answer: C - most of the energy in a torphic level is lost as it passes to the next higher level