Why are food chains sometimes short?
1 Answer
Jan 16, 2016
A food chain can be short due to limited biodiversity, or limited food supply.
Or both.
Explanation:
In a desert, for example, the plants are sparse and well protected, so there are limited numbers if primary consumers.
A secondary consumer then has less to feed on, so they are even more scarce, and may be the end of the food chain.
Limited availability of food energy, which drops drastically at each trophic level, leads to a short food chain.
In a low biodiversity environment there just might not be enough different species for a lengthy food chain.
