In order to survive, the gray toad needs to eat 5 g of slugs, pests of agricultural crops, per day

In order to survive, the gray toad needs to eat 5 g of slugs, pests of agricultural crops, per day. 10 toads live on an area of 1 hectare. Calculate the mass of pests that a toad destroys on an area of 10 hectares during the warm season (from May to the end of September, 150 days). How many plants save toads from being eaten by slugs?

1) Let’s compose the food chain: plant – slug – gray toad.

2) Let’s find what mass of slugs one toad eats during the warm season:

5 g * 150 days = 750 g.

3) During this time, 10 toads will be destroyed per 1 hectare:

750 g * 10 = 7500 g or 7.5 kg of slugs.

For 10 hectares – 7500 * 10 = 75000 g or 75 kg.

4) To find out what mass of plants the toads save (or how much slugs eat), you need to use the rule of the food pyramid: only 10% of the energy goes to the next level. Those. slugs, in order to gain their mass, need to eat 10 times more plants:

75 kg * 10 = 750 kg of plants are saved by toads.