Question

Imagine a very simple food chain with just 3 trophic levels, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish. The

fish require 10,000 calories to persist. There are 100,000 calories in the phytoplankton. Would there
be enough energy in this food chain for all of the fish to survive? What is this process called?
O Yes; Bottom-up control
O No; Top-down control
O Yes; Top-down control
O No; Bottom-up control

Answer 1

Answer: No; Bottom-up control

Explanation: law of 10 %

It has been pointed out that bottom-up control likely dominates at lower trophic levels (i.e. the plant compartment, and sometimes the herbivores), while the top-down controls are dominant at higher trophic levels.