Question

Give an example and construct a food chain. How does it differ from the food web?

Answer 1

Hint: Food chain is a feeding hierarchy in which organisms in an ecosystem are grouped in trophic levels and follow a linear flow whereas the food web consists of the diverse relationship between organisms and it can be multidirectional or unidirectional. The energy flow can be decreased or increased in a given hierarchy of systems.

Complete answer:
Food chain:
• Energy giving producers are usually green plants.
• Have a single linear pathway of energy flow.
• It consists of a single unit at a time with 4-7 trophic levels.
• In this higher trophic level organisms can serve their energy to a single type of organism of lower level.
• Disturbance on a single member of higher trophic level disturbs the whole cycle.
• Increases the instability of an ecosystem.
• Does not improve adaptability and competitiveness of organisms.
Examples:
Land food chain- plants -deer- wolf
Aquatic food chain- algae- mosquito larva- dragonfly- fish

Food web:
• Has a number of interconnected pathways through which energy flows in the ecosystem.
• It is a collection of several interconnected foods .
• Numerous trophic levels can be seen.
• Higher-level organisms can feed upon several types of organisms in the lower level.
• Increases the stability of an ecosystem.
• Disturbance on a single organism does not disturb the whole food web.
• Improves the stability and adaptability with nature to compete against each other.

Note: All the organisms whether in the food chain or in the food web are dependent on each other in some way and follows a pattern to transfer 10 percent of energy to another level only 90 percent is consumed by themselves, the producers which can make their own food take 100 percent energy from the direct energy-giving source which is referred to the sun.