Question

Imagine a very simple food chain in which orcas (killer whales) eat only seaotters, sea otters eat only sea urchins, and urchins eat only kelp (marine algae). Orcas, sea otters, and urchins are the only significant consumers in the system.To keep one ton of orca biomass fed, you would need about:

a) 1 ton of kelp.
b) 10 tons of kelp.
c) 100 tons of kelp.
d) 1,000 tons of kelp.
e) 1,000,000 tons of kelp.

Answer 1

In this food chain, 1 ton of orca biomass would require 100 tons of kelp to sustain.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this simple food chain, orcas (killer whales) eat sea otters, sea otters eat sea urchins, and urchins eat kelp. Since orcas are at the top of the food chain, they require a large amount of biomass to survive. Based on the information given and the fact that the orcas eat only sea otters, which eat only sea urchins, which eat only kelp, we can determine that 1 ton of orca biomass would require 100 tons of kelp to sustain.