In a marine ecosystem, an ecologist measures the Net Primary Productivity (NPP) of the primary producers at Trophic Level 1 to be 24,000 kJ m−2 yr−124,000\text{ kJ m}^{-2}\text{ yr}^{-1}24,000 kJ m−2 yr−1. The average ecological efficiency (the percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next) is consistently 12%. A viable population at any trophic level requires a minimum energy influx of 30 kJ m−2 yr−130\text{ kJ m}^{-2}\text{ yr}^{-1}30 kJ m−2 yr−1 to survive.
Based on this energy threshold, what is the maximum trophic level (nnn) that this ecosystem can support?
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