Explain how energy travels through a food web by filling in the blanks with the correct option in the dropdown menu. Energy in a food web starts with the [ Select] (an autotroph) that creates its own energy, typically from the sun. --> Then energy is passed to the [Select] (a heterotroph) that eats the producer, receiving 20 % of the available energy. --> The [Select] (also a heterotroph) eats this organism, receiving the same percent of available energy available at this step. --> [ Select] Any dead organism is broken down by a that returns nutrients back to the soil.