Why Are There So Few Ecosystems with More Than Four

question 16

Multiple Choice

Why are there so few ecosystems with more than four levels of consumers?

• A)because biomass decreases by about 90% at each trophic level moving up
• B)because top consumers compete with and kill each other with increasing population size
• C)because consumers at these highest trophic levels typically form social groups that stop reproducing at high densities
• D)because predators at the highest trophic levels simply are not intelligent enough to hunt other top predators

---

Definitions:

Subsidiary

A company that is completely or partly owned and partly or wholly controlled by another company.

Ownership

The state or fact of owning something, which can involve possessing property, shares in a company, or any asset that grants the owner legal rights and responsibilities.

Horizontal Mergers

A business consolidation that occurs between firms that operate in the same industry or production stage.

Economies of Scale

Cost advantages reaped by companies when production becomes efficient, resulting in the average cost per unit of output decreasing with increasing scale.