Question

this diagram shows a food chain from chesapeake bay, an estuary ecosystem in maryland and virginia. the arrows show how the matter eaten by organisms moves through the food chain. select each organism below that is a tertiary consumer in this food chain. phytoplankton common grass shrimp atlantic silverside bluefish pelican

Explanation:

In a food chain, producers (like phytoplankton) make their own food. Primary consumers (common grass shrimp) eat producers. Secondary consumers (Atlantic silverside) eat primary consumers. Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers. Bluefish eat Atlantic silverside (secondary consumer), so bluefish is a tertiary consumer. Pelican eats bluefish (tertiary consumer), but if we consider the strict count: phytoplankton (producer) → common grass shrimp (primary) → Atlantic silverside (secondary) → bluefish (tertiary).

Answer:

bluefish