Most of us understand the idea of the food chain in the natural world (this one eats that one and so on and so forth), but are you aware of the 10 percent rule?
The 10 percent rule suggests that as energy is passed from producers to consumers, the bulk of that energy is lost to life processes (like movement or heat production, reproduction, or waste). Only about 10 percent is transferred from one “link” to another. This reality keeps food chains short (maybe five levels?). It also explains why a healthy food system will have lots of producers but only a few top predators.
The clean-up crew pictured below is a critical last stop for energy transfer in the Tanzanian grasslands. Scavengers and decomposers break down the last scraps of carcasses (often inedible to others) and release it back into soil. Plants absorb the nutrients from the soil and the cycle begins again (cue the “Circle of Life” tune from Disney’s Lion King).
This system of the food chain is hinted at in Psalm 104. Contemplate these edible bits from vss 27-31:
“All creatures look to you to give the food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. . . When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of YHWH endure forever; may YHWH rejoice in his works.”
We spotted this black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) and scruffy-looking hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) cleaning up a kill site in Ngorongoro Crater.
