Question
  1. What is a trophic level in an ecosystem? What is ‘standing crop’ with reference to it?
  2. Explain the role of the ‘first trophic level’ in an ecosystem.
  3. How is the detritus food chain connected with the grazing food chain in a natural ecosystem?

Answer

  1. Tropic level: Organisms occupy a place in the natural surroundings or in a community according to their feeding relationship with other organisms. Based on the source of their nutrition or food, organisms occupy a specific place in the food chain and this is known as trophic level.

Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at a particular time and this is called as Standing crop. It is measured as the mass of living organisms (biomass) or the number in a unit area.

  1. First trophic level is formed by producers.

This is the basic unit.

These organisms can live without feeding on any another level.

The only thing that these organisms need to survive is sunlight and water which they can turn into energy themselves.

All other trophic levels depend on this level for energy.

  1. GFC is Grazing Food Chain: It is depicted as below:

Producers → Primary consumers → Secondary consumers

DFC is Detritus Food Chain: It begins with dead organic matter. It is made up of decomposers which are heterotrophic organisms like fungi, bacteria etc.

GFC is the major conduct for energy flow. DFC may be connected with GFC at some levels: Some of the organisms of DFC are prey to the GFC animals.

$\text{Producers}\xrightarrow[]{\downarrow\ \text{Decomposers}}\ \text{Primary consumers}\xrightarrow[]{\downarrow\ \text{Decomposers}}\ \text{Secondary consumers.}$

These natural inter connection of food chains forms food web.

Need a full question paper?

Generate a complete, print-ready paper with questions like this in minutes — across 16+ boards, with answer keys.

Start Generating Free

Similar questions

  1. Write an equation for Verhaulst-Pearl Logistic Growth, where.

N - Population density at a timet E.

r - Intrinsic rate of natural increase.

K - Carrying Capacity.

  1. Draw a graph for a population whose population density has reached the carrying capacity.
  2. Why is this logistic growth model considered a more realistic one for most animal populations?
  3. Draw a growth curve where resources are not limiting to growth of a population.
What essential features must be present in a cloning vector?
Draw a neat labelled sketch of Graafian follicle.
Discuss in detail the contributions of Morgan and Sturvant in the area of genetics.
Write two differences between spermatogenesis and oogenesis.
If a population growing exponentially double in size in 3 years, what is the intrinsic rate of increase (r) of the population?
Differentiate between male heterogamety and female heterogamety with the help of an example of each.
Following is the sequence of nucleotide in two strands of DNA. Observe the strands and answer the preceding questions.
5' - GAATTC - 3'
3' - CTTAAG - 5'
  1. Name the special term used for such an arrangement of nucleotide.
  2. Name the special type of enzymes which work/ function at this specific points.
  3. Name the enzyme, that cut DNA between GA sequence.
  4. Name the single strands produced after the action of the enzyme.
Does light factor affect the distribution of organisms? Write a brief note giving suitable examples of either plants or animals.
  1. Work out a dihybrid cross upto F, generation between pea plants bearing violet-coloured axial flowers and white-coloured terminal flowers. Give their phenotypic ratio.
  2. State the Mendel's law of inheritance that was derived from such a cross.