Question

Study the four statements (i-iv) given below and select the two correct ones out of them.
(I) A lion eating a deer and sparrow feeding on grains are ecologically similar in being consumers.
(II) Predator star fish helps in maintaining species diversity of some invertebrates.
(III) Predators ultimately lead to the extinction of prey species.
(IV) Production of chemicals such as nicotine, strychnine by the plants are metabolic disorders.
The two correct statements are
A) (ii) and (iii)
B) (ii) and (iv)
C) (i) and (iv)
D) (i) and (ii)

Answer 1

Hint: An ecosystem composed of biotic and abiotic components. This includes the study of two basic categories; aquatic and terrestrial. The forest, desert, and grassland are terrestrial ecosystems and the pond, lakes, and other water bodies are aquatic ecosystems.

Complete Answer:
- An ecosystem is the interaction between the biotic and the abiotic components that forms a structure. Through the identification of the different plants and animals species of an ecosystem gives its species composition.
- The productivity, decomposition, energy flow, and nutrient cycling is considered as the unit that functions together to understand the component of the ecosystem.
- To understand this better, let’s take the example of an aquatic ecosystem, in a pond the abiotic component is the water and the inorganic and organic compounds dissolved in it and the soil deposit.
- The autotrophic components are the phytoplankton, the floating, and some of the algae. The consumers are the zooplanktons, decomposers are the bacteria, fungi, and flagellates, therefore this system has all the functions of an ecosystem.
- Let’s understand the ecosystem terminology, the green plants are considered as the producers and autotrophic of the terrestrial ecosystem. All the organisms that depend on plants directly or indirectly are the consumers and they are heterotrophic.
- If the animals depend directly on plants that means the herbivores animals are the primary consumer and all the animals that indirectly depend on plants that means they eat herbivores animals are secondary consumers.
- So, the lion eating a deer and a sparrow feeding on grains are ecologically similar as they both are consumers and also the predator star fish helps in maintaining the diversity of many invertebrates by keeping the balance between the prey and the predators.

Thus, the correct option is ‘D’. (i) and (ii).

Note: In the trophic level of the ecosystem, the energy flow is getting reduced from the producer to the tertiary consumer. The tertiary consumer includes the organisms that are top carnivores like lion, tiger, and human also.