Question

The food chain that starts from plants and goes from smaller to larger animals is
A. Predator food chain
B. Saprophytic food chain
C. Detritus food chain
D. Parasitic food chain

Answer 1

Hint: The sequence of transfers of matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism is called a food chain. This food chain is also known as the grazing food chain. This type of food chain relies directly on solar energy flow.

Complete Answer:
A food chain clarifies which organism in the ecosystem consumes another organism. Food chain starts with the organism that creates, follows the chain, and ends with the organism that decomposes. The trophic level refers to the sequential levels of the food chain, beginning at the bottom with the producers, preceded by the primary, secondary and tertiary customers. Each level of a food chain is referred to as a trophic level.

Now, let us find the solution from the options-
- This food chain begins with green plants i.e producers, goes through the herbivore i.e., primary consumers and finishes with carnivores i.e., secondary or tertiary consumers.
- The dead organic material or organic waste of the ecosystem goes to the microorganisms of the saprophytic food chain and eventually to the detritus eating organism regarded as detrivore. The energy contained in detritus acts as the detrivore's supply of energy. As the key portion of energy is lost to the ecosystem without being properly used, this form of food chain is less efficient. Therefore, the option B is incorrect.
- The detritus food chain is known as saprophytic food chain. Thus, the option C is incorrect.
- The parasitic food chain begins with herbivores, food resources moving from larger to smaller species without fully destroying them. The larger animals are then known to be the hosts, and the smaller animals that fulfil their nutritional needs from the hosts are classified as parasites. Thus, the option D is incorrect.

Thus, the correct answer is option A Predator food chain.

Note: The bulk of ecosystems in the world adopt this kind of food chain as autotrophs are the foundation for all ecosystems on earth. It is essential to understand food chains, since they clarify the intimate relationships in an environment.