Various trophic levels are connected through the food chains. If all the organisms of any one trophic level are killed, then it will disrupt the entire food chain.
For example, in a food chain, if all the plants are killed, then all the deer will die due to lack of food. If all the deer are dead, then soon the tigers will also die. Due to the death of these animals, the decomposer’s population will rise in that area.
This is just an example of one food chain. However, in nature, food chains are not isolated. They are interconnected in the form of food web. Therefore, killing all the plants of an area will not only affect the deer, it will also affect other herbivores such as goat, cattle, sheep, etc.
Given below are two statements:
Statement I: Gause’s ‘Competitive Exclusion Principle’ states that two closely related species competing for the same resources cannot co-exist indefinitely and competitively inferior one will be eliminated eventually.
Statement II: In general, carnivores are more adversely affected by competition than herbivores.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
In the equation GPP - R = NPP
GPP is Gross Primary Productivity
NPP is Net Primary Productivity
R here is ________.
Match Column-I with Column-II and choose the correct option:
| Column-I (Minerals) | Column-II (Features) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| A. | Copper | (i) | Used in manufacturing of steel and plants |
| B. | Bauxite | (ii) | Used in electric and electronic industries |
| C. | Mica | (iii) | Used in electric cables and utensils |
| D. | Manganese | (iv) | Used in aluminium production |
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Give reasons:
(i) The sky appears dark to passengers flying at very high altitudes.
At very high altitudes, passengers are above the atmosphere where there is less scattering of sunlight. As a result, they do not see the scattered blue light and the sky appears dark, similar to the condition experienced by astronauts in space.
(ii) 'Danger' signal lights are red in color.
An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit of ecology where the living organisms come in to interact with each other and the surrounding environment.
The structure of an ecosystem is distinguished by the organization of both biotic and abiotic components. This involves the distribution of energy in our environment. It also comprises the climatic conditions prevailing in that particular environment.
There are two main components of the structure of an ecosystem, namely:
The biotic and abiotic components are interconnected in an ecosystem. It is an open system where the energy and components can flow through the boundaries.