Ecosystem Interdependence and Nutrient Cycling

A bee hive contains hundreds to thousands of drone bees, not just one. There is only one queen bee.

Worker bees are infertile females that perform all the tasks in the hive, including collecting nectar.

The function of the reservoir is to meet the deficit which occurs due to meet the deficit which occurs due to imbalance in the rate of influx and efflux.

Seral stages are intermediate stages in ecological succession. They typically feature complex food webs, high net primary productivity, and high energy use efficiency compared to the early pioneer stages.

Humus is the dark, organic material that forms in soil when plant and animal matter decays. It is a vital component of fertile soil.

Microorganisms are the primary decomposers in the soil. By breaking down organic matter, they accelerate the production of humus, which enriches the soil.

Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organic matter. Fungi, along with bacteria, are the primary decomposers in an ecosystem.

Humus improves soil structure, increases water retention, and provides essential nutrients, all of which directly enhance soil fertility.

Decomposers are saprotrophs, which decompose the organic remains of plants and animals by secreting extracellular digestive enzymes. Due to degradation of organic remains, decomposers are also called reducers. Heterotrophic bacteria and saprophytic fungi are the important organisms which usually act as decomposers. Thus, the correct answer is option B.

Methyl mercury is a persistent pollutant that biomagnifies in food chains, and mercury poisoning is indeed the cause of Minamata disease. These are two distinct facts about mercury, so the reason does not explain the assertion.

In a grazing food chain, primary consumers (herbivores) directly feed upon living plant material.

According to the 10% law of energy transfer, energy is lost as heat at each trophic level. Therefore, the amount of available energy always decreases as you move up the food chain.

Earthworms are known as nature's ploughmen because they ingest organic matter and soil, breaking it down and excreting it as nutrient-rich castings, which contributes significantly to humus formation.

Decomposers are the organisms that play a critical role by breaking down and decomposing the body and release the element back to nature for other organisms. Thus they help in recycling the nutrients in the atmosphere. They also act as the cleaning agent of the environment because without them dead organisms will pile up. Thus in their absence all the organisms i.e., plants, animals, and insects will be affected. Thus, the correct answer is option D.

Detrivores are those animals which obtain their nourishment by consuming decomposing plant and animal parts. Earthworms decompose the organic matter of soil thus aerating it which is then used by farmers as fertilizers. Thus it improves the fertility of soil making it more porous. 

Decomposers are saprotrophs which decompose the organic remains by secreting extracellular digestive enzymes. Due to degradation of organic remains, decomposers are also called reducers. They are also known as mineralisers as they release minerals trapped in organic remains. Bacteria and fungi, in general microorganisms, are usually detrivores that feed on dead and decaying organic matter and act as decomposers.

Decomposers are organisms feeding on dead remains of plants and animals and excreta of animals. Decomposers are saprotrophs, which decompose the organic remains by secreting extracellular digestive enzymes. Due to degradation of organic remains, decomposers are also called as reducers. They are also known as mineralizers, as they release minerals trapped in organic remains.

• The food chain starts with energy from the sun, which is captured by plants and converted into fuel through photosynthesis. 
• Primary consumers eat plants, and secondary and tertiary consumers feed on primary consumers. At the end of the chain, a group of micro-organisms called as decomposers carry out natural process of decomposition and form the final link in the food chain. They break down dead animals and plants and return vital nutrients to the soil.
• So, option D is correct here.

Decomposers are heterotrophs feeding on the dead and decaying matter. More specifically decomposers are saprotrophs, which decompose the organic remains by secreting extracellular digestive enzymes. Due to degradation of organic remains, decomposers are also called as reducers. They are also known as mineralizers, as they release mineral trapped in organic remains.