Question

In every ecosystem/green plants are
A. Decomposers
B. Producers
C. Consumers
D. None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: A food chain is a linear network of connections which starts from the producer to apex predator species, decomposers species in a food web. It also reveals how the food they consume binds the species with each other.

Complete answer:
A food chain refers to the order of events in an ecosystem, where one living organism eats another organism and later that organism is consumed by another larger organism. The flow of nutrients and energy from one organism to another at different trophic levels forms a food chain. It also helps in knowing the feeding pattern or relationship between living organisms.
Trophic level has the different stages in a food chain which begins from the producers at the bottom followed by primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Every level in a food chain is called the trophic level.

The food chain consists of major parts:
-Producer: The producer in a food chain includes all the green plants. It is the first stage in the food chain. The producer is the first level of a food chain. The producers take the energy from the sun and produce the food. They are also known as autotrophs as they can make their own food and they produce their own nutrients through photosynthesis. Example- Green plants, phytoplankton, algae are some of the examples of producers in a food chain
-Consumers: are all organisms that eat something else. It is the largest part of a food web, as it contains almost all living organisms. It includes herbivores which are animals that eat plants, carnivores which are animals that eat other animals, parasites are those organisms that live on other organisms by harming them and lastly scavengers which are animals that eat dead animals. Hence herbivores are known as primary consumers and carnivores are secondary consumers. The second trophic level includes organisms that eat producers. Therefore primary consumers or herbivores are organisms in the second trophic level.
-Decomposers: are organisms that get energy from dead or waste organic material. It is the last stage in the food chain. It is an integral part of the food chain as they convert organic waste into inorganic materials like nutrient rich soil.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: The food chain is the order in which animals and plants consume each other. Each living creature requires another creature below it to feed. Hence every ecosystem has a distinct food chain and a distinct trophic level is seen in each level of food chain.