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Food Chain

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Topics

  • Introduction of Food Chain
  • Advantages of Food Chain

Introduction of Food Chain:

A food chain is like a line or a chain that connects different living things based on what they eat. It starts with a producer and ends with a top predator. Each step in the food chain is called a trophic level.

Trophic level is categorised into:

  1. First Trophic Level: Producers (Autotrophs): Producers, such as plants and algae, utilise sunlight for photosynthesis to produce food and they are the foundation of all food chains and webs because they create the energy that all other organisms depend on.
  2. Second Trophic Level: Primary Consumers (Herbivores): They are directly dependent on autotrophs (producers).  For example: Grasshopper, squirrel, elephant, rabbit, deer, etc.
  3. Third Trophic Level: Secondary Consumers (Carnivores): These consumers use herbivores as their food. For example: Frog, owl, snake, fox, etc.
  4. Fourth Trophic Level: Tertiary Consumers (Apex Carnivores): These consumers use herbivores and carnivores as their food. For example: Tiger, eagle, shark, lion, etc.
  5. Omnivores (mixed consumers): They feed on herbivores, carnivores and producers. For example:  Humans, bears, etc.
  6. Decomposers: Decomposers, like fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms and waste products from all trophic levels.

Example:

Food Chain

  1. Sunlight (Energy Source)
  2. 1st Trophic Level: Producers (Grass)
  3. 2nd Trophic Level: Primary Consumers (Grasshopper)
  4. 3rd Trophic Level: Secondary Consumers (Frog)
  5. 4th Trophic Level: Tertiary Consumers (Snake)
  6. 5th Trophic Level: Apex Consumers (Eagle)
  7. Decomposers (Fungi and Bacteria)

Advantages of Food Chain:

  1. Energy moves through the ecosystem as producers convert sunlight into food, which is then consumed by herbivores and predators.
  2. Producers, herbivores, and predators depend on each other to maintain a balanced ecosystem.
  3. Predator-prey relationships help control population sizes, preventing any one species from overpopulating.
  4. Nutrients cycle through the ecosystem as plants absorb them, animals consume plants, and decomposers return nutrients to the soil.
  5. Energy flow ensures that every trophic level supports the next, from plants to apex predators.
  6. Population dynamics ensure resources are not overused, maintaining ecosystem stability.
  7. Decomposers play a vital role in recycling nutrients from dead organisms back into the environment.
  8. The interdependence of species ensures the continuous transfer of energy and nutrients throughout the ecosystem.
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Shaalaa.com | Our Environment part 5 (Food chain)

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Our Environment part 5 (Food chain) [00:07:59]
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Our Environment part 5 (Food chain)
00:07:59  undefined
Our Environment part 6 (Flow of energy in food chain)
00:10:09  undefined
Our Environment part 7 (Biological Magnification)
00:08:54  undefined
Our Environment part 8 (Food web)
00:05:45  undefined

Related QuestionsVIEW ALL [200]

Write the percentage of energy transferred from autotrophs to the next level in a food chain.

What percentage of sun's energy falling on the leaves of green plants is utilised by the plants in the process of photosynthesis and stored as chemical energy of food?
(a) 99 per cent
(b) 10 per cent
(c) 1 per cent
(d) 20 per cent

A food chain comprises of cat, seed-eating bird, plants, and dog. The organism which will have the maximum concentration of harmful pesticides coming through the food chain is most likely to be :
(a) cat
(b) plants
(c) dog
(d) seed-eating bird

Which statement is correct with respect to the food chain?

Write down a food chain with five links in it.

Organisms of a higher trophic level which feed on several types of organisms belonging to a number of lower trophic levels constitute the ______.

The following is a food chain that ends with human :
plants → bee → human

Explain how plants provide food for bees.

In the food chain comprising of a snake, grass, insect, and frog, the secondary consumer is :
(a) insect
(b) snake
(c) frog
(d) grass

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