Question

Which could be in the fourth trophic level of a food chain?



A.
grass

B.
bluebird

C.
earthworm

D.
rabbit

Answer 1

@Jennjuniper
Can you help? This is a bit confusing, doesn't really seem to be a forth trophic...

Answer 2

@cherry17ann I'll help you through it. What can we eliminate with 100% certainty?

Answer 3

Grass?

Answer 4

Yep, that must be a producer. Now, what do we know about the diets of the other animals? @cherry17ann

Answer 5

Earth worm-soil
Bluebird-worms
Bunny-grass

Answer 6

@cherry17ann Okay, I think we can know out bunny. See this on is a bit tricky. How far away is the bluebird from the worm? What is in soil? Soil is, in the top layers, decomposed and decomposing organic material including solid animal waste, dead plants, dead animals, and some other stuff.

Answer 7

the higher the trophic levels, the less species that fit into the category because of heat escaping as u move up each trophic level

Answer 8

@sunshao1 That does not have anything to do with this question. Bluebirds mostly eat insects and fruit. What does that mean? @cherry17ann

Answer 9

@cherry17ann Let's say that a snake eats some bluebird eggs. Then, the snake is eaten by a hawk, a very messy hawk that through bits of the snake about. This bits ended up in the soil and were later eaten by a passing earthworm.

Answer 10

@cherry17ann Sorry, I'm a bit sick. That should be "threw" not "through".

Answer 11

I'm sorry, this isn't really making sense to me... Earthworm?

Answer 12

@cherry17ann Hmm, I should pause. Did you treat decomposers differently then predators?

Answer 13

@cherry17ann I say, go with bluebirds because some treat decomposers and scavengers separately from predators in the trophic levels. I forgot about this. Trophic levels like these are not widely accepted in journals.

Bluebird scenario:
grass, producer
insect that eats grass, say an aphid
insect that eats aphids, ladybug,
bluebird eats the ladybug.

Answer 14

Thank you very much!

Answer 15

@cherry17ann This is what is more accurate for trophic interactions.