With reference to a food chain consider the following statements 1 The initial source of energy for ...........

Environment and Ecology Concept of Ecosystems

With reference to a food chain, consider the following statements:

1. The initial source of energy for the detritus Food Chain is the dead organic matter from the grazing food chain.

2. Detritus Food Chain is the major conduit of energy flow in an aquatic ecosystem.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1 only

2 only

Both 1 and 2

Neither 1 nor 2

Food Chain :

Organisms in an ecosystem are related to each other through a feeding mechanism i.e. one organism becomes food for the other.
This sequence of organisms feeding on one another form a food chain.
There are 2 main types of food chains:
Grazing Food Chain (GFC):
This food chain begins from green plants at the base and the primary consumer is an herbivore . The consumer that feeds on these herbivores is carnivore/secondary consumer.
Animals depending upon carnivores for food are secondary carnivores/tertiary consumers.
Detritus Food Chain (DFC):
It starts from dead organic matter of decaying animals and plant bodies consumed by the micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi) and then to detritus feeding organism called detrivores or decomposers or saprotrophs and to other predators.
The distinction between these two food chains is the source of energy for the fi rst level consumers. In the grazing food chain, the primary source of energy is living plant biomass while in the detritus food chain the source of energy is dead organic matter or detritus.
The two food chains are linked. The initial energy source for the detritus food chain is the waste materials and dead organic matter from the grazing food chain.