What is shown in the image below? A food web titled Chesapeake Bay Waterbird Food Web. It shows a very complex food web with many different food chains of various species displayed in 5 categories. Primary Producers: phytoplankton, S A V, vegetation. Herbivores: zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, herbivorous ducks, geese and mute swans. Primary consumers: small planktivorous fish, bivalves. Secondary consumers: gulls and terns, wading birds, large piscivorous fish, sea ducks, tundra swan. Tertiary consumers: osprey, bald eagle. food chain trophic chain food web energy web

Answer A)

As the diagram shows, there are five trophic levels which can be seen in this food web. The first trophic level is the organisms which are able to produce their own food by the process of photosynthesis. These include organisms like phytoplankton, S A V, vegetation. The second trophic level is that of the herbivores which includes  zooplankton, benthic invertebrates, herbivorous ducks, geese and mute swans. The third trophic level is the primary consumes which includes small planktivorous fish, bivalves. The fourth trophic level is the secondary consumers which includes gulls and terns, wading birds, large piscivorous fish, sea ducks, tundra swan. The fifth torphic level is that of the tertiary consumers which includes osprey, bald eagle.

Answer B)

Produces are organism which can make their own food. An example of producers in this question is phytoplankton.

Herbivores are organism which only feed on the primary producers. An example of herbivores in the given question is  herbivorous ducks.

Carnivores can be described as organisms which feed on other animals. An example of carnivores in the given question is bald eagle.

Answer C)

As energy moves up the trophic levels in a food chain or food web, it reduces abundantly. This is because most of the energy is lost at each trophic level in the form of heat. Only 10% of energy is recorded to be transferred from one trophic level to another. The rest is lost mainly in the form of heat to the environment.

Answer No D)

1) Carbon moves from the plants to the animals which eat them.

2) The carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by animals is taken by the plants for the process of photosynthesis.

3) When animals die, the carbon compounds present in them gets decomposed in the soil. These carbon compounds are taken in by the plants from the soil as nutrients.