Question

CHECKPOINTS (continued)

8. A student thinks that populations higher in a food chain are larger because they
deplete the populations of organisms lower in the food chain. Using evidence
from this lesson, explain why this student's thinking is incorrect.

Answer 1

In the food chain every time it attains the higher trophic level only ten per-cent of total energy is transferred. The higher trophic level populations in a food chain are larger because the biomass needs to be maintained as there are fewer organisms the biomass is distributed to maintain the equilibrium in the ecosystem.

Step-by-step explanation:

The less energy passed on to the higher level would cause less population in the higher trophic level and biomass gets distributed so the organisms keep increasing in the size at the higher trophic level.