Question

Describe the characteristics of both the "classic" and the "microbial loop" portions of the food chain.

Answer 1

ANSWER :-

CLASSICAL FOOD CHAIN

1. Lets consider a community in which many animals live. Some of these animals can prepare their own food while the others are not able to do so and remain dependent. The first ones are called as the autotrophs and the remaining ones who are dependent on others for food are called as heterotrophs.
2. The classical food chain indicates the flow of nutrients between the various groups of species of organism which belong to a community in a particular habitat.
3. On the basis of above mentioned points, there are various groups which are established and are being considered as trophic levels which indicates a particular group of animals that have been classified on the basis of their particular feeding habit. In terms of food chain, there are four groups in which the first one is the producers followed by the primary consumers and the secondary consumers and ultimately ending in the decomposers. The producers include the plants which are autotrophs and the primary consumers include the herbivores which are dependent on the producers for their nourishment. As we can see, plants will be having maximum energy levels and as they are being consumed by the herbivores which do show loss of energy in the form of heat getting dissipated from the body, the energy level goes on decreasing from the producers to the secondary consumers.
4. The primary consumers are being fed upon by the secondary consumers and ultimately all the organisms of the three groups mentioned above are being decomposed by the decomposers who feed on the dead and decaying matter which is rich in organic content. This is how a classical food chain can be represented. To give an example, grass is being eaten up by grasshopper which is being eaten up by frogs which are eaten up by birds and all are being decomposed by fungus.

MICROBIAL LOOP FOOD CHAIN

1. In case of the microbial loop which can be seen in the marine habitat, there are certain microbial communities which are involved in taking in nutrition or organic material that has been released after the primary producers in the oceans namely the phytoplanktons decompose. The phytoplanktons are microscopic organisms which are found in the upper surface of the oceans and are responsible for fixing atmospheric carbon in the presence of sunlight in a similar manner in which the plants do the proceedings.
2. These are being consumed by the second group of organisms that feed on them and are called as the zooplanktons which can be considered as the herbivores of the aquatic zone. Although to mention a few points, some of the planktons (phytoplanktons) which survive and die are being used by the microbial decomposers which are located at a particular depth and not at the surface in order to recirculate the elements which are associated with the phytoplanktons and other associated contents as an influx into the food chain and thus play a vital role in maintaining the nutrient flow within the food chain by means of contributing it to the herbivores and the carnivores including the zooplanktons and the fishes including tuna, mackerels and ultimately whales which are the filter feeders.
3. Whales are the aquatic mammals and there is an important point that needs to be taken into consideration that the whales too contribute a major part in contributing to the recycling of nutrients within the food chain. The fecal matter which is being released by the whales is being used by the microbial communities in this process and thereby contributing to the food chain by producing nutrients and adding them up after being consumed by the predators of the food chain mainly the zooplanktons.