In which ecosystem is the biomass of primary consumers greater than producers?

Sea

The correct answer is Option (4) - Sea

The green plant in the ecosystem are called producers. In a terrestrial ecosystem, major producers are herbaceous and woody plants. Likewise, producers in an aquatic ecosystem are various species like phytoplankton, algae and higher plants

Forest: In forest ecosystems, producers (trees and other plants) have a larger biomass compared to primary consumers (herbivores). The large biomass of trees contributes significantly to the overall biomass.

Grassland: Similar to forests, grasslands have a larger biomass of producers (grasses and other plants) compared to primary consumers (herbivores like insects ,rats , mice and grazing animals).

Desert: In deserts, plant biomass (producers) is also greater than that of primary consumers due to the limited availability of water and nutrients which restricts the overall biomass of consumers.

Sea: The pyramid of biomass in sea is generally inverted because the biomass of fishes far exceeds that of phytoplankton.The producers are smallest organisms while carnivores are large in size. Consequently , there is a gradual increase in biomass of organisms at successive trophic levels from producers onwards to top carnivores resulting in inverted pyramid. Thus, the biomass of phytoplanktons will be smaller than that of zooplanktons; the biomass of zooplanktons will be lesser than of primary carnivores ( e.g., small fishes).