Question

Which of the following is the correct sequence of hydrarch succession?

(a) Rooted-submerged plants → Rooted-floating angiosperms → Phytoplanktons → Marsh-meadow              Scrub → Forest

(b) Phytoplanktons → Rooted-submerged plants → Rooted-floating angiosperms → Free-floating plants → Reed-swamp → Marsh-meadow → Scrub → Forest

(c) Reed-swamp → Marsh-meadow → Scrub → Forest → Phytoplanktons → Rooted-submerged plants

(d) Phytoplanktons → Rooted-submerged plants → Rooted-floating angiosperms → Forest        Marsh-meadow → Scrub

The question was posed to me in a job interview.

The doubt is from Ecosystem in section Ecosystem of Biology – Class 12

Answer 1

The correct answer is (b) Phytoplanktons → Rooted-submerged plants → Rooted-floating angiosperms → Free-floating plants → Reed-swamp → Marsh-meadow → Scrub → Forest

Easiest explanation: The sequence of successional stages occurring in water is known as hydrarch succession or hydrosere. It mostly starts from phytoplanktons and ends with the formation of a forest. The pioneering species grow with time leading to a formation of a climax community called a forest.