BIOLOGY - ECOSYSTEM - Q4 - DIFFERTIATE- Q n A

4.  a) Differentiate between Producer and Consumer.

Answer: 

 Producers:

- Producers are organisms that make their own food.

- They are autotrophs.

- They can convert inorganic substances into organic substances.

- They occupy the first trophic level in the food chain.

- They play a primary role in the food chain.

- They are green photosynthetic plants.

- They entrap solar energy through chlorophyll to synthesize organic food from inorganic raw materials.

- They are also known as “converters” or “transducers”.

- Examples of producers are algae, phytoplankton.

 Consumers:

- Consumers are organisms that need to eat other organisms to obtain energy.

- They are heterotrophs.

- They can not convert inorganic substances to organic substances.

- They do not occupy the first trophic level rather occupy other trophic levels.

- They play a secondary role in the food chain.

- They are not photosynthetic.

- They do not synthesize food by trapping solar energy.

- They are known as “obtainers”.

- Examples of consumers are grasshoppers, frogs, etc.

b) Food chain and food web

Answer: 

Definition of Food Chain

The sequence of organisms within an ecosystem through which food and energy pass in each member is known as a food chain. Further, it comprises producers, consumers, and decomposers. The producers are the green plants whereas the consumers are humans and animals and finally, decomposers are microorganisms. There are two kinds of food chains. They are grazing food chains and detritus food chains. For instance, grass-antelope-tiger-vulture is an example of a food chain.

Definition of Food Web

When various food chains link together to form a network, it refers to the food web. In a food web, you will find different species of organisms of the population. All of these have one thing in common, which is the requirement of energy for carrying out the activities. Most importantly, the sun is the main source of energy on Earth. Green plants use this energy to make their food. Once they capture this energy, it passes through many phases of several organisms of the specific region which we call a food web.

Difference Between Food Chain and Food Web

Food chain	Food web
It is a pathway in which organisms in an ecosystem are grouped into trophic levels and are shown in a succession to represent a linear flow of food energy and the feeding relationships between them.	It is a graphical model showing the interconnecting food chains in an ecological community.
It is a single linear pathway of energy flow.	It has a number of interconnected pathways through which the energy flows within an ecosystem.
It is a single unit.	It is a connection of several interconnected food chains.
It may consist of 4 - 6 trophic levels.	It consists of many numbers trophic levels
It increases the instability of an ecosystem.	It increases the stability of an ecosystem
It does not improve the adaptability and competition amongst the organisms.	It improves the adaptability and competitiveness of organisms
The whole food chain can be disturbed if a disturbance occurs at a single trophic level.	The whole food web won't be disturbed if a disturbance occurs at a single trophic level.
Higher trophic level members can only feed upon a single type of organism in its lower trophic level	Higher trophic level members can feed upon several types of organisms in their lower trophic levels.
It can be a grazing food chain and detritus food chain	No such type is considered for the food web.
It is a simple and easy process.	It is a much more complex process in the ecosystem
Example - Food chain in the grassland ecosystem	Example - Food web of a grassland ecosystem

c) Primary consumer and tertiary consumer

Answer: 

Difference Between Primary Secondary and Tertiary Consumers 

Definition 

Primary consumers refer to the organisms that feed on primary producers, and secondary consumers refer to the organisms that feed on primary consumers while tertiary consumers refer to the animals that obtain their nutrition by eating primary consumers and secondary consumers. Thus, this is the fundamental difference between primary secondary and tertiary consumers.

Type of Animals 

Importantly, primary consumers are herbivores;  secondary consumers can be either carnivores or omnivores while tertiary consumers are the apex predators. 

Energy Flow 

Moreover, energy flow is an important difference between primary secondary and tertiary consumers. Primary consumers obtain energy from primary producers, while secondary consumers obtain energy from primary consumers and tertiary consumers obtain energy either from primary or secondary consumers.  

Amount of energy 

Furthermore, primary consumers take 10% of the energy in primary producers, and secondary consumers take 1% of the energy of primary producers while tertiary consumers take only 0.1% of energy from primary producers.  

Amount of Biomass 

The amount of biomass is also a difference between primary secondary and tertiary consumers. Primary consumers have the highest amount of biomass, while secondary consumers have the medium amount of biomass and tertiary consumers have the lowest amount of biomass. 

Conclusion 

Primary consumers are animals that eat primary producers. Therefore, they are herbivores. Moreover, they obtain 10% of the primary producers’ energy. On the other hand, secondary consumers are animals that eat primary consumers. However, they can be either carnivore, who only eat animals, or omnivores, who eat both animals and plants, which are the primary producers. On the other hand, secondary consumers obtain 1% of the energy of the primary producers. Moreover, tertiary consumers are animals that eat secondary and primary consumers. Generally, they are predators. However, they can obtain only 0.1% of the energy with primary producers. Therefore, the main difference between primary secondary and tertiary consumers is the method by which they obtain energy. 

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d) Predation and parasitism

Ans: Complete step-by-step answer:

Parasitism and predation is an antagonistic interaction seen between two species where one is affected and the other species get the benefits. Parasitism involves interaction between a parasite and host, where the parasite is beneficial (obtaining food and shelter) and causes harm to the host (parasite causes diseases in the host). On the other hand, predation is an interaction involving a predator and prey, where the predator (beneficiary) feeds on the prey for its nutrition requirement hence, killing the prey (affected species).

Features	Parasitism	Predation
Specificity	The relationship between the two organisms is very specific. Often parasites are associated with a definite host.	No specific relationship between the organisms. Predators feed on any prey species without any specificity.
Metabolic dependency	Parasite depends on the host for their metabolism.	No metabolic dependency is involved.
Size of the organisms	The host is larger than the parasites.	Prey is smaller than predators.
Action	Passive action of parasites on the host. Parasites act slowly and steadily on the host.	Predators are active and require a sudden attack on prey.
Final affects	Affects the health of the host but does not kill them.	Predators kill the prey.
Dependency	Parasite depends on the host to complete its life cycle.	Predators depend on prey for their food requirements for survival.
Example	Parasite: mosquito, host: human| Parasite: tapeworm, host: cow | Parasite: Cuscuta, host: plant	Predator: Lion, prey: Zebra| Predator: Bear, prey: fish| Predator: Fox, prey: Rabbit

e) Symbiosis and predation 

Ans: 

Symbiosis is an ecological relationship between two species that live in close proximity to each other. Competition and predation are ecological relationships but are not symbiotic. Predation does not occur over a long period of time, and competition is an indirect interaction over resources.

A predator is an organism that eats another organism. The prey is the organism that the predator eats. Some examples of predator and prey are lion and zebra, bear and fish, and fox and rabbit.