Question

Consider the following statements concerning food chains
(A) removal of 80% tigers from an area resulted in greatly increased growth of vegetation
(B) Removal of most of the carnivores resulted in an increased population of deers
(C) the length of food chains is generally limited to 3-4 trophic levels due to energy loss
(D) the length of food chains may vary from 2 to 8 trophic levels. Which two of the above statements are correct?

• A. A, D
• B. A, B
• C. B, C
• D. C, D.

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Removal of 80% tigers (i.e., tertiary consumer) from an area resulted is decreased growth of vegetation because there will be increased numbers of secondary or primary consumers which feeds on green plant. Removal of most of the carnivores resulted in an increased population of deers on which carnivores depends. The length of food chain is generally limited to 3-4 trophic level due to energy loss because all the food available at one level is neither eaten nor used by animals at the next level and a lot of the energy is lost in respiration to drive the organisms metabolism so less energy is left to support higher trophic level.