Home › AP Environmental Science › Biology › Ecosystems › What sits at the base of a detrital food web?
What sits at the base of a detrital food web?
AFeeders on living green plants
BHunters of large plant eaters
CFeeders on dead organic matter
DGrazers on floating algal mats
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Feeders on dead organic matter
1. A grazing food web starts with plants or other photosynthetic organisms.
2. A detrital food web starts instead with organisms that feed on decaying material.
3. These decomposers and detritivores are usually bacteria or fungi.
4. They recycle dead material back into the living part of the ecosystem.
5. Most grazing food webs have a detrital web running alongside them.
_Source: OpenStax Biology 1e (CC BY 4.0), Chs 44 and 46, section 46.1 Ecology of Ecosystems_
Related questions
The nitrogen cycle is introduced with the observation that getting nitrogen into the livinCarbon is described as which most abundant element in living organisms?Gross and net primary productivity differ by the energy that producers spend on:After a limited number of trophic energy transfers, the energy remaining may not be enoughThe recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment is calledNet primary productivity is used because organisms need to use some energy for their own:The rate at which photosynthetic primary producers incorporate energy from the sun is callProductivity within an ecosystem is defined as the percentage of entering energy incorpora