Question

Show an aquatic food chain using the following organisms.
(Small fish, Phytoplanktons, Kingfisher, Zooplanktons).

Answer 1

Hint: Food chain is a chain reaction which tells us what eats what. It is a linear sequence which gives information regarding the energy as well as how the nutrients are transferred from one organism to another.

Complete Answer:
Each step in the food chain represents the trophic levels. So, the food chains begin with the producer organisms which prepare the food. This is followed by the primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. These are the main parts of the food chain. The food chain can occur in various habitats. When it occurs in water, it is known as an aquatic food chain.

Phytoplanktons → zooplanktons → small fishes → kingfisher

Here the phytoplanktons are the producers which produce their own food. They are eaten by the zooplanktons which are the small animals which represent the primary consumers. The small fishes eat the zooplanktons and are called as secondary consumers and the kingfisher bird occupies the last trophic level.

Additional information-
The various components of food chain are-
1. Sun- the major source of energy. It provides energy to all living beings.
2. Producers- It includes all the green plants as it is the first stage of the food chain. All the green plants are able to perform photosynthesis to prepare their own food. They absorb the sunlight and use the available gases to form the food. They are also known as autotrophs.
3. Consumers- They obtain the next trophic levels in the food chain and include the organisms which are dependent on the producers for their food. It is the largest part of the food chain as they are more in number as compared to the plants. The organisms in consumers can be herbivores, carnivores or omnivores. The herbivores consume the green plants, carnivores consume the animals whereas the omnivores consume both. So, the herbivores become the primary consumers, carnivores become the secondary consumers whereas the omnivores become the tertiary consumers.
4. Decomposers- They attain the last trophic level in the food chain as they are the organisms which feed on dead and decaying matter of organisms. They feed on the organic matter of these dead organisms and convert it into inorganics nutrients.

Note: Aquatic food chain is the food chain which occurs in water. It consists of the phytoplankton which obtain the first trophic level, the zooplanktons obtain the second trophic level and the small fishes obtain the third trophic level. The last trophic level is obtained by the kingfisher bird.