Write down the salient features of the food chain

Question: Write down the salient features of the food chain.

Answer:

1.  Producers are at the basis of all sustainable food chains.
2. The sun provides energy to the producers. All others (consumers) get their energy from food that was produced by the producers. There is a one-way flow of energy.
3. Decomposers are needed to keep inorganic nutrients flowing. Food chains cannot be sustained otherwise.
4. The food chain runs straight unless it is connected to another.
5. With 3-5 trophic levels, food chains are usually short.
6. The size of populations shrinks as the trophic level rises. Top carnivores are constantly in short supply.
7. A snake, for example, feeds on both herbivorous and carnivorous frogs, indicating that it may operate at multiple trophic levels.