What are the differences between the food chain and the food web (food chain vs food web)?
Both animals and plants depend on other animals and plants as food to ensure their survival. For example, it could be an impala eating grass or a lion eating the impala.
Apex predators whether on land, sea or air are on top of the food chain and without natural predators of their own. The food chains and food webs describe the flow of nutrients in an ecosystem.
We will be able to understand the living organisms of an ecosystem with the help of food chains and food webs.
Also, we will be discussing more on the differences between the food chain and the food web in this article.
Definition of Food Chain
A food chain refers to the linear flow of energy and nutrients from an organism in an ecosystem to another. Each organism in an ecosystem is at a specific trophic level.
For example, grass which is among the primary producers sits at trophic level 1, while the apex predators are at trophic level 4 or 5.
The food chain is made up of producers, consumers, and decomposers. The producers also known as autotrophs are the green plants and they usually make their own food.
Humans and animals are the consumers and they sit at the second, third, and fourth levels. And the decomposers are microorganisms.
The food chain describes what animal eats the other animal in the wild. From one-celled algae to an African lion, every living thing in the wild need food to survive.
For example, green grass produces its food from sunlight. The rabbit eats the grass, a fox eats the rabbit. When the fox dies, its carcass is broken down and returned to the soil. It will provide nutrients for the green grass.
A clear example of a food chain is grass-antelope-tiger-vulture.
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Examples of a Food Chain
Other examples of food chain include:
- Plants-Deer-Humans
- Grass-Goat-Tigers
- Grass-Rabbit-Foxx-Coyote
- Flower-Mice-Snakes-Eagles
Definition of Food Web
Unlike a food chain which is a possible pathway that energy and nutrients can flow through the ecosystem, a food web describes the way animals are interconnected and interact in a food chain.
For example, there are many predators that could eat a mouse or a rabbit.
Also, primary consumers such as small planktivorous fish can eat phytoplankton. The small planktivorous fish can also be eaten by secondary consumers like wading birds, gulls, and large fishes.
Now those large fishes can be eaten by a bald eagle which is a tertiary consumer. Generally, every living thing in an ecosystem is part of several food chains. .
Organisms in food webs are organised into several categories known as trophic levels. The trophic levels are grouped into producers, consumers and decomposers.
The producers or the autotrophs do not depend on other organisms for food, as they make their own from sunlight. The producers or autotrophs make up the first trophic level.
Green plants are the most popular type of autotroph. However, algae and phytoplankton which are both in the ocean are also autotrophs.
Food Web Examples
In food web examples, it’s sometimes difficult to follow how energy flows. This is because of each ecosystem consists of multiple producers and consumers. For example, a food web in a tropical rainforest will include producers (seeds, plants) primary consumers (rabbits, deer, squirrel, birds), and secondary consumers (fox, hawk).
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Food Chain vs Food Web (direction)
While food chains move in one unified direction, food webs on the other hand have a vast interconnected network. In food webs and food chains, each animal is connected through the method energy is transferred throughout their ecosystem.
Both food chains and food webs help us to understand the relationship between prey and predator. However, food chains only illustrate the examples for each trophic level. But food webs show how organisms and animals interact with each other at several trophic levels.
Food Chain vs Food Web: Number of Animals Involved
The number of animals involved in food chains and food webs is one of the key differences between the two.
While a food chain shows the relationship between producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers, food webs illustrate the connection between several primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers.
A food web shows the different directions that energy travels through different consumers at different trophic levels in an ecosystem. A food chain only shows and follows a specific path of energy from the producers (green plants) to the apex predator.
Food Chain vs Food Web
Here, we are looking at one of the key differences between food chains vs food webs, which is the presence of decomposers.
Generally, food chains are likely to leave out the decomposers from the entire process. But food webs usually include decomposers in the process.
The presence of decomposers is important in a food web, as it is needed to illustrate the totality of an ecosystem. However, some food webs may include decomposers.
There are some food chains with decomposers and this occurs when they directly affect the chain of animals.
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Difference between Food Chain vs Food Web
Definition
Food Chain: A food chain refers to the linear flow of energy and nutrients from an organism in an ecosystem to another. Each organism in an ecosystem is at a specific trophic level. It’s the flow of energy through a single pathway from the producers (green plants) at a lower trophic level to a top predator at a higher trophic level.
Food Web: Unlike a food chain which is a possible pathway that energy and nutrients can flow through the ecosystem, a food web describes the way animals are interconnected and interact in a food chain.
Composition
Food Chain: It consists of a single straight food chain.
Food Web: It consists of various interconnected food chains.
Energy Flow
Food Chain: Just one linear pathway of energy and nutrient flow.
Food Web: Multiple interconnected pathways through energy and nutrients flow to multiple trophic levels.
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Trophic Levels
Food Chain: It comprises 4 to 6 trophic levels of different species.
Food Web: Comprises multiple trophic levels of different species.
Stability
Food Chain: It increases because there is an increase in the number of different and confined food chains.
Food Web: It increases due to the presence of the complex food chain.
Conclusion
The food chain describes what animal eats the other animal in the wild. From one-celled algae to an African lion, every living thing in the wild need food to survive.
While food chains move in one unified direction, food webs on the other hand have a vast interconnected network. In food webs and food chains, each animal is connected through the method energy is transferred throughout their ecosystem.
The food chain and food web are ecological food maps which do not only describe the pathway of energy and nutrient flow but provide an understanding of how organisms or animals interconnect.
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References
- Toppr: Difference Between Food Chain And Food Web
- Byjus: Difference Between Food Chain And Food Web
- YourDictionary: Main Difference Between a Food Chain and a Food Web
- A-Zanimals: Food Chain vs Food Web: What’s the Difference?
- Biodifferences: Difference Between Food Chain and Food Web
