LIFE SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The carbon in the food is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Carnivores get their carbon from the bodies of other animals. Herbivores get theirs from plants. This means that all land consumers ultimately depend on photosynthesis.

Detailed explanation-2: -Consumers constitute the upper trophic levels. Unlike producers, they cannot make their own food. To get energy, they eat plants or other animals, while some eat both. Scientists distinguish between several kinds of consumers.

Detailed explanation-3: -Animals obtain their carbon by eating plants; they release carbon in respiration. Micrororganisms (such as fungi and bacteria) return carbon to the environment when they decompose dead plants and animals.

Detailed explanation-4: -Producers use carbon dioxide to make food in photosynthesis. Some of the carbon dioxide is returned to the atmosphere when this food is used for energy during cellular respiration. The rest is stored in the producer’s body as sugar. It becomes available to consumers for energy.