Food chains and ecosystems
Question
With reference to food chains in ecosystems, consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1.
A food chain illustrates the order in which a chain of organisms feed upon each other.
- 2.
Food chains are found within the populations of a species.
- 3.
A food chain illustrates the numbers of each organism which are eaten by others.
Options
1 only
1 and 2 only
1, 2 and 3
None
Explanation
Statement 1 is correct: a food chain does illustrate the feeding order (producer → primary consumer → secondary consumer, etc.). Statement 2 is incorrect: food chains are found between different species in a community, not within populations of a single species. Statement 3 is incorrect: food chains show the sequence of feeding relationships, but the numbers/biomass illustration is more characteristic of ecological pyramids, not food chains themselves. Only statement 1 accurately describes food chains. > Remember: Food chains show sequence of feeding (WHO EATS WHOM), not population numbers or intraspecific relationships. Answer: a.
Question details
Year
2013
Paper
GS Paper 1
Question
Q31
Subject
Environment
Sub-topic
Ecosystem and food chains
Type
Statement-based
Difficulty
Easy
Nature
Static
Source hint
NCERT Biology - Ecology
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