D. There needs to be a lot of producers to support the loss of energy when moving up the food chain.
This is because energy is lost as it moves through each trophic level, with only about 10% of the energy being transferred to the next level. Therefore, a large amount of producers like phytoplankton is needed to support the energy requirements of higher trophic levels such as herbivorous zooplankton, small carnivorous fish, and large carnivorous fish.
This table shows the amount of different organisms at different feeding levels.
Information
Types of Organisms
Average Mass
(per square meter of pond surface in grams)
Phytoplankton and larger algae 809
Herbivorous zooplankton 37
Small carnivorous fish 11
Large carnivorous fish 2
Question
Why does the pond contain a larger mass of producers than any other category of organism?
Answer options with 4 options
A.
Organisms gain more energy when moving up the food chain.
B.
The pond is a better habitat for the phytoplankton than for any other organism.
C.
Zooplankton, small fish, and large fish all eat phytoplankton, so there has to be a lot of it.
D.
There needs to be a lot of producers to support the loss of energy when moving up the food chain.
1 answer