Trophic level is defined as the position of an organism in the food chain and ranges from a value of...........

Environment and Ecology Concept of Ecosystems

Trophic level is defined as the position of an organism in the food chain and ranges from a value of 1 for primary producers to 5 for marine mammals and humans.. Consider the following statements.

1. Only half of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next level.

2. The energy flow among trophic levels is always unidirectional.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 Only

2 Only

Both 1 and 2

Neither 1 nor 2

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Explanation:

The transfer of energy from one trophic level to next trophic level follows the 10 percent law known as Lindeman's law of trophic efficiency which states that the efficiency of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level is about 10%. Rest of the energy is lost in respiration.
The flow of energy in the ecosystem is unidirectional because the energy lost as heat from the living organisms of a food chain cannot be reused by plants in photosynthesis. During the transfer of energy through successive trophic levels in an ecosystem, there is a loss of energy all along the path.
The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food web.
The trophic level of an organism is the number of steps it is from the start of the chain.
A food web starts at trophic level 1 with primary producers such as plants, can move to herbivores at level 2, carnivores at level 3 or higher, and typically finish with apex predators at level 4 or 5.
The path along the chain can form either a one-way flow or a food "web".
Ecological communities with higher biodiversity form more complex trophic paths.