Question

Green plants constitute
a. First trophic level
b. Second trophic level
c. Third trophic level
d. Fourth trophic level

Answer 1

Hint: The position or steps that an organism occupies in the food chain is called a trophic level. In a food web, there can be 4-5 trophic levels. There is a method to calculate the trophic level which states that the amount of higher trophic level will be divided by the amount of lower trophic level per 100 times. The economy of energy at different trophic levels will be different.

Complete answer:
A series of plants and animals which are interrelated with each other in the form of an organism being eaten as food by others is called a food chain. There are 3 different trophic levels in a food chain which are named as producers, consumers, and decomposers.

> The first trophic levels are producers in a food chain which includes green plants. It is the lowest trophic level. The reason behind producers placed on the first trophic level is that they have the capability to transfer solar energy into food. They can perform photosynthesis because they are autotrophs and can make their own food.

> The second trophic level constitutes by the primary consumers in a food chain which includes animals. They eat plants or producers and are called herbivores. For example – deer, turtle, etc.

> The third trophic level consists of secondary consumers in food which includes those animals which eat primary consumers. They are the meat-eaters that is why they are known as carnivores. For example – lion, snakes, etc.

> The fourth trophic level consists of the decomposers in a food chain. They are the organisms that eat dead and decaying food and decompose the waste organic matter as well as release energy into the environment. For example – bacteria, fungi, etc.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note: Green plants are the autotrophs and they make their own food with the help of sunlight and by the process of photosynthesis. All the organisms present in the different trophic levels are mainly directly or indirectly dependent on the producers. The energy in the first trophic level is highest and decreases as the trophic level increases.