Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Why are there rarely more than five links (or five organisms) in a food chain?
Advertisements
Solution
There are rarely more than five links (or five organisms) in a food chain because, according to the 10 per cent law, only 10 per cent of the available energy is transferred to the next trophic level. So, at the higher trophic levels, the amount of energy is reduced to such an extent that it becomes insufficient for an organism to sustain itself.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
State with reason any two possible consequences of elimination of decomposers from the Earth.
Give reason to justify the following: The existence of decomposers is essential in a biosphere.
Explain how the pesticides enter a food chain and subsequently get into our body.
The following statement is true or false :
Secondary consumers and tertiary consumers, both are carnivores.
Which organisms belong to third and fourth trophic levels in the food chain comprising the following?
Rats, Plants, Hawk, Snakes
Explain the terms 'producer' and 'consumer'. Give two examples of producers and two of consumers.
Draw the food chain with four trophic levels.
At which trophic level a person is feeding when he is eating bread.
In a food chain, the initial organism is usually :
(a) photosynthetic
(b) herbivore
(c) saprophytic
(d) parasitic
Which of the following are decomposers of dead organisms?
| Bacteria | Fungi | Viruses |
| (a) no | yes | yes |
| (b) yes | no | yes |
| (c) yes | yes | no |
| (d) yes | yes | yes |
In a food chain, the third trophic level is always occupied by :
(a) carnivores
(b) herbivores
(c) decomposers
(d) producers
The following is a food chain that ends with human :
plants → bee → human
How do bees provide food for humans?
Name the process in which a harmful chemical enters the food chain and gets concentrated at each trophic level.
'If we excessively use pesticides to protect the crops from diseases, then it may cause long-term damage to mankind'. Justify this statement.
A food chain comprising birds, green plants, fish and man. The concentration of harmful chemical entering the food chain will be maximum in ______.
Natural agents like ______ are the decomposition factors breaking complex forms into simpler units.
If a harmful chemical enters a food chain comprising peacocks, plants, rats and snakes, which of these organisms is likely to have the highest concentration of the chemical in its body? Justify your answer. Name the process involved and define it.
Use of several pesticides which results in excessive accumulation of pesticides in rivers of ponds, is a matter of deep concern. Justify this statement.
