Question

part 2: identifying trophic levels
use the food chain below to answer the questions.

1. identify the producer in this food chain.
2. which organism is the primary consumer?
3. what trophic level does the heron belong to?
4. lets assume the frog has 50 units of energy available. how much energy is available to all of the other organisms?
5. if the heron were to die, in which trophic level would there be an organism to help break it down? give an example of it.

part 3: create your own food chain!
on a separate sheet, draw a food chain with 5 different organisms. it must include:

• producer
• primary consumer
• secondary consumer
• tertiary consumer
• decomposer
• label each trophic level correctly and draw each organism.
• assign an initial energy value to the producer (you can choose any number).
• calculate and label how much energy is available at each trophic level using the 10% rule.
• make sure your food chain is clear and neat!

Explanation:

Step1: Producer Identification

Producers are organisms that make their own food. In a food chain, they are usually plants or plant - like organisms. In the given food chain, the flower (which produces nectar) is the producer.

Step2: Primary Consumer Identification

Primary consumers are organisms that eat producers. The butterfly eats the flower's nectar, so it is the primary consumer.

Step3: Heron's Trophic Level

The trophic levels are: Producer (flower) → Primary consumer (butterfly) → Secondary consumer (frog) → Tertiary consumer (heron). So the heron is a tertiary consumer.

Step4: Energy Calculation

Using the 10% energy transfer rule:

• If the frog (secondary consumer) has 50 units of energy.
• The primary consumer (butterfly) had \(50\div0.1 = 500\) units of energy.
• The producer (flower) had \(500\div0.1=5000\) units of energy.
• The heron (tertiary consumer) gets \(50\times0.1 = 5\) units of energy.

Step5: Decomposer Trophic Level

Decomposers break down dead organisms. They are not part of the traditional consumer - producer trophic levels in the same linear sense but can be considered as a separate level that interacts with all dead organisms. An example of a decomposer is a fungus.

Answer:

1. Flower
2. Butterfly
3. Tertiary consumer
4. Flower: 5000 units, Butterfly: 500 units, Heron: 5 units
5. Separate decomposer level; Example: Fungus