Biomes And Ecosystems Questions Medium
The concept of a food chain refers to the transfer of energy and nutrients from one organism to another in a linear sequence. It illustrates the flow of energy within an ecosystem, starting from producers (plants or autotrophs) that convert sunlight into food through photosynthesis, to consumers (heterotrophs) that feed on other organisms, and finally to decomposers that break down dead organic matter.
An example of a food chain is the grassland ecosystem. It typically starts with grass as the primary producer, which is then consumed by herbivores such as zebras. The zebras, in turn, become prey for carnivores like lions. Finally, decomposers like bacteria and fungi break down the remains of dead organisms, returning nutrients to the soil for the grass to grow again. Thus, the food chain in a grassland ecosystem can be represented as: grass → zebra → lion → decomposers.