In a marine food chain, the producer level is occupied by:
Adrifting zooplankton
Bdrifting phytoplankton
Cshoaling small fish
Dhunting large sharks
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. drifting phytoplankton
1. Producers make their own food, so in the sea they must be photosynthetic.
2. Phytoplankton are microscopic photosynthetic organisms drifting in the surface water.
3. They therefore occupy the first trophic level as the producers.
4. Zooplankton eat phytoplankton, so they are the primary consumers at the second level.
5. Placing phytoplankton at the consumer level and zooplankton as producers reverses the chain and was a recorded error.
_Source: NECTA ACSEE 2023 Biology 133/2, Question 6: Ecology_
Related questions
The Arctic tundra has little species diversity and net primary productivity that is:The boreal forest, found across Canada, Russia and northern Europe, is also called:Temperate grasslands in central North America are also known as:A scrub forest biome found in California and around the Mediterranean is the:Grasslands with scattered trees found in Africa, South America and northern Australia are:Plants growing harmlessly on other plants in a rainforest are called:Tropical wet forests show high net primary productivity because their rainfall and temperaTropical wet forests are found in equatorial regions and are also known as tropical: