An arrow points from algae to a snail. An arrow points from the snail to a sunfish. An arrow points from the sunfish to a heron.
Each arrow in the diagram represents a transfer of energy. To represent all of the energy in the food chain, which modification to the arrows, if any, would be most useful to include?
a
Add arrows from each organism to its environment, to show the energy lost as heat.
b
Add arrows to connect all other pairs of organisms, to show all possible feeding relationships.
c
Add arrows pointing in the opposite direction, such as from the fish to the snail, to show two-way energy flow.
d
Add arrows from the environment to each organism, to show how the organisms gain energy from nonliving sources.
1 answer
The best modification to represent all of the energy in the food chain would be:
a Add arrows from each organism to its environment, to show the energy lost as heat.
This option effectively illustrates the concept that energy is not only transferred through the food chain but that a significant portion of energy is lost as heat at each trophic level, adhering to the second law of thermodynamics. This helps to give a more complete picture of energy flow within the ecosystem.
