Understanding Food Webs and Ecosystem Dynamics

What is a food web?

• A single food chain in an ecosystem

• A complex network of interconnected food chains

• A group of apex predators

• A type of autotroph

Which organisms are considered producers in a food web?

• Herbivores

• Carnivores

• Apex predators

• Plants, algae, and some bacteria

What is the role of decomposers in a food web?

• To prey on secondary consumers

• To feed on plants

• To break down nonliving plant and animal remains

• To create their own food through photosynthesis

Why is there typically more biomass at the producer level than at the consumer levels in an ecosystem?

• Producers are larger in size

• Energy is lost as heat or waste at each trophic level

• Consumers reproduce more slowly

• Producers are more efficient at bioaccumulation

What is bioaccumulation and how does it affect apex predators?

• The process of energy loss in food webs, leading to fewer producers

• The accumulation of toxins in the fat of animals, posing risks to top predators

• The increase in biomass at each trophic level

• The breakdown of organic wastes into inorganic materials