Answer:
a) the flow of energy in an ecosystem
b) the eating patterns of organisms
d) how much energy is transferred from one organism to another
Explanation:
We can define a food chain as a linear sequence of organisms in which one serves as food for the other. A food chain has three or four links, and the first component of the chain is always an autotrophic organism, which, as we saw earlier, we call a producer. The other organisms in the chain are all heterotrophic and therefore called consumers.
Each link in the food chain is considered a trophic level, and producers, being the first link in the chain, are considered the first trophic level. Primary consumers, who feed directly on producers, make up the second trophic level, and so on. It is important to remember that in a food chain the energy flow always comes from the producers.
Through the food chain we can know:
- the flow of energy in an ecosystem
- the eating patterns of organisms
- how much energy is transferred from one organism to another