Which of the following is are the reasons for food chains being short 1 Loss of energy is progressiv...........

Environment and Ecology Concept of Ecosystems

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Which of the following is/are the reasons for food chains being short?

1. Loss of energy is progressively higher for higher trophic levels.

2. Species at higher levels tend to be more discrete in their feeding habits.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

1 Only

2 Only

Both 1 and 2

Neither 1 nor 2

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Explanation:

Food chains are reasonably short. Four vertical links is a common maximum because:
1.Loss of energy is progressively higher for higher trophic levels (because the species at higher trophic levels being larger in size have to move and work for getting food and therefore more energy is lost due to respiration)
2.Higher trophic levels tend to be less discrete than the lower ones because the organisms at progressively higher trophic levels receive energy from more than one source and are generalists in their feeding habit and they are more efficient in using their available food.