Which of the following statements is true about food chains, in general?

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Top level consumers are the most abundant organisms (in terms of biomass) in an ecosystem.

The more independent the food chains, the more stable is the ecosystem.

Organisms of higher trophic levels are smaller in size.

Higher trophic levels include fewer organisms.

answer is D.

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Detailed Solution

In general, the number of organisms gradually decreases and the size of individual organisms gradually increases as we move up the food chain (from lower trophic level to higher trophic level). The total biomass also decreases from lower to higher trophic levels. A food web makes with interlinked food chains increases the stability of the ecosystem. There are exceptions to these generalisations. For example in the case of parasitic food chains, the higher trophic level includes more number of organisms. In aquatic ecosystem, the biomass (standing crop) of the first trophic level is less than that of the second trophic level.

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