Question

In the food chain, the saprophytic organisms are
A. Producers
B. Consumers
C. Predators
D. Decomposers

Answer 1

Hint: The food chain is an ecological model used to depict the unidirectional flow of energy through various trophic levels. The food chain begins with the producers and ends with the decomposers.

Complete answer:
A food chain is a chain of organisms each occupying a trophic level. The main idea of the food chain is to identify how the energy is passed on from one trophic level to the other. It is generally a base rule that the energy flow in a food chain is always unidirectional, as a frog cannot eat a snake, nor could a grasshopper eat a frog.

The various organisms in a food chain are autotrophic organisms such as plants, algae, phytoplankton, etc. which are called producers as they produce food for the entire chain directly or indirectly. Next, would be heterotrophic organisms such as grasshopper, frog, snake, eagle, etc. These organisms can be called consumers as they consume the food produced by autotrophs directly or indirectly and are differentiated as primary, secondary and tertiary consumers based on which trophic level they occupy.

The last organism to occupy the food chain is saprophytic organisms that are decomposers. They do not play a role in the energy transfer usually seen from the primary producer to the tertiary consumer but are crucial as they feed on dead and decomposing organic matter and send the nutrient to soil, for the autotrophs to grow.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D.

Note: In true essence, the decomposers do not occupy the food chain in terms of energy transfer but are very crucial in maintaining the chain. Plants even obtain energy from the sun, they also need the nutrients fixed by the decomposers to grow. That is why food chains are simplified and do not provide a clear picture of ecological succession, as a consumer does not exclusively rely on only one organism for its food source.