Question

what is a food chain? describe the three types of food chains, giving one examples of each.​

Answer 1

Answer:

Producers are any plant or other organisms that produce their own nutrients through photosynthesis. For example, green plants, fruits, phytoplanktons, small plants, and algae are some examples of producers in a food chain. Consumers: Consumers are all organisms that are dependent on plants or other organisms for food.

Answer 2

Answer:

Definition of Food Chain:

Food chains are more or less familiar to everyone in a vague sort of way. It may be because man occupies a position at or near the end of a chain of food items. If occupies an intermediate trophic position between primary and secondary consumers.

The inter-relationship between plants and animals and between animals and ani­mals in the sphere of energy production and consumption results in a definite pattern of several stages of eating and being eaten up — this is referred to as the food chainAny habitat, if it is habitable, contains both autotrophs and heterotrophs. The autotrophs depend on raw materials of the habitat and heterotrophs are depen­dent directly or indirectly upon autotrophs.

These relationships pertaining to the nutri­tional factor form a. food series or food chain. The food chain is never a closed circuit but bears many ramifications.

Several trophic levels form the knots in a food chain. The producer elements or autotrophic biota form the very founda­tions of a food chain. These photosynthetic organisms must exist if other levels are to be maintained.

Other trophic levels of the food chain consist of consumer elements. The consumer elements include a group of organisms having diverse food habit and preference. Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, para­sites, saprozoics are all included in the consumer elements.Any consumer that is dependent upon the producer elements for its food is called a primary consumer. The next step in the food chain is occupied by secondary consumers. Secondary consu­mers are dependent upon the primary consumers. A step above this remains occu­pied by tertiary consumers.

Thus a survey of a food chain reveals the position of an organism in a food chain. The final consu­mer in a food chain will eventually die due to old age, injury, disease or any other factor. The producers, consumers and the waste products of the consumers finally become exposed to the final elements of the food chain.

These final elements are the decomposers or reducers. The decompo­sers transform the dead organic matters into raw materials which are used again by the ‘producer elements of the food chain (Fig. 3.6).

cycle representing the relationship between the trophic levels in nature

The food chain or the web of relations between different organisms is a very complex one. Let us disentangle a food chain with the help of an example. In any open woodland there are many grass, herbs and trees. These are the producer elements.

Explanation: