Exploring Food Chains and Food Webs

The video explores the differences between food chains and food webs, emphasizing the flow of energy in ecosystems. It explains how food chains are linear paths of energy transfer, while food webs are complex networks of feeding interactions. The role of decomposers and detritivores in recycling nutrients is highlighted. The video also discusses the impact of environmental changes on food webs and introduces ecological pyramids to illustrate energy transfer across trophic levels.

What is the primary role of autotrophs in an ecosystem?

• To consume other organisms

• To produce energy through photosynthesis

• To act as secondary consumers

• To decompose dead matter

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In an aquatic food chain, what is the term used for free-floating algae?

• Phytoplankton

• Zooplankton

• Autotrophs

• Detritus

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How many steps away from the producer is a secondary consumer in a food chain?

• Three steps

• Four steps

• Two steps

• One step

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What is a food web?

• A diagram showing only producers and primary consumers

• A network of feeding interactions between different species

• A single linear path of energy flow

• A representation of decomposers in an ecosystem

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Which of the following is an example of a detritivore?

• Raccoon

• Phytoplankton

• Lion

• Earthworm

Why are decomposers important in an ecosystem?

• They recycle nutrients by breaking down dead matter

• They produce energy through photosynthesis

• They consume primary producers

• They act as primary consumers

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What is the impact of global warming on food webs in the ocean?

• It only affects terrestrial food chains

• It increases the population of primary producers

• It has no effect on marine organisms

• It causes a decrease in certain organisms, disrupting the entire food web

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What happens to the energy that is not transferred to the next trophic level?

• It is completely lost

• It is stored in the organism

• It is used for breathing, moving, growing, and reproducing

• It is converted into biomass

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What is the approximate percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next?

• 1%

• 10%

• 50%

• 90%

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What does a pyramid of biomass represent?

• The number of producers in an ecosystem

• The energy flow between trophic levels

• The number of organisms at each trophic level

• The total amount of living tissue at each trophic level