Ecosystem Question 9
9. Secondary productivity is rate of formation of new organic matter by
(a) Parasite
(b) Consumer
(c) Decomposer
(d) Producer
Show Answer
Answer : b
Hints & Solutions
(b) The rate of resynthesis of organic matter by the consumers is known as secondary productivity . It depends upon the loss while transferring energy containing organic matter from the previous trophic level plus the consumption due to respiration and predation. Respiration loss is about $20 %$ for autotrophs, $30 %$ for herbivores and upto $60 %$ in case of carnivores. Therefore net productivity decreases with each trophic level.
