ECOLOGY
ENERGY FLOW AND THE FOOD CHAIN
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Food webs are found in more ecosystems than food chains.
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Food webs are made of many food chains.
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Decomposers are only found in food webs, not in food chains.
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Food chains are made of many food webs.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Organisms in food webs are grouped into different trophic levels. The trophic levels are producers, consumers and decomposers. A food web portrays an ecosystem in a more realistic way than a food chain because food chains are so simple. Food chains imply that organisms eat only one type of food which is rarely true.
Detailed explanation-2: -A food chain follows one path of energy and materials between species. A food web is more complex and is a whole system of connected food chains. In a food web, organisms are placed into different trophic levels. Trophic levels include different categories of organisms such as producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Detailed explanation-3: -Theoretically, compartments increase the stability in networks, such as food webs.” Food webs are also complex in the way that they change in scale, seasonally, and geographically. The components of food webs, including organisms and mineral nutrients, cross the thresholds of ecosystem boundaries.
Detailed explanation-4: -The flow of energy in a food web is always unidirectional. In a food web, the supplies of food never end. Therefore, it is more stable than the food chain.
Detailed explanation-5: -Food webs consist of many interconnected food chains and are more realistic representation of consumption relationships in ecosystems. Energy transfer between trophic levels is inefficient-with a typical efficiency around 10%. This inefficiency limits the length of food chains.