Difference between food chain and food web

Food is the basic source of energy for all organisms in the ecosystem. The flow of food is from one organism to another. So a series or chain of organisms in which each of them depends on each other as a source of food or energy is called a food chain, while the food web is a system of many food chains that depend on each other for fountain. of food. The food chain is a linear chain of food flow from one producer to the next consumers. An example can be given that a hawk is at the top of a food chain because the hawk eats a snake while the snake eats grasshopper that has eaten grass (producer). But a food web is not a linear chain; it has many interconnected food chains. For example, if we take the food chain above as an example, grass is not only eaten by a grasshopper, but also eaten by a rabbit. Also, the snake eats rabbit and grasshopper. Apart from that, Hawk also eats rabbits and snakes. On the other hand, the rabbit is also eaten by a fox and many other consumers. These food chains are interconnected with each other and together they form a large food web.

Comparative chart

The food chain is a linear chain or model that shows the simple flow of food from one organism to another. It starts from a first producer who are mostly plants and flows from one consumer to another and finally ends at the apex consumer or top predator. This predator is not commonly eaten by someone when it dies; it is broken down by decomposers in the soil or the environment. In this way, energy is returned to the environment and producers can reuse it as a nutrient or as minerals. The first organism from which the food chain begins is known as a producer because it produces its food by itself just as plants produce food by photosynthesis and other organisms are called primary consumers, secondary consumers, etc. according to their number.

What is the Food Web?

A food web is a system of food chains that are interconnected with each other at many levels. A food web is much larger than the food chain and is not straight like a food chain. A food web is also called a food cycle. The food web includes many producer populations that are consumed by the number of consumers from different communities. There are so many consumers who eat others at a different tropical level. This food web does not end with a single predator; it has many of the top predators. An example of the food web is that grass is not only eaten by grasshoppers, but also eaten by a rabbit or a squirrel. Now the snake eats rabbit, squirrel and grasshopper, Hawk also eats rabbit and snake. On the other hand, the rabbit and the squirrel are also eaten by a fox, a bear, a dog and many other consumers. In this way,

1. The food chain is straight, while the food web is like a web in which many organisms are found. Furthermore, the food chain is small and the food web is comparatively very large.
2. The food chain includes and begins with a producer and ends with a top predator, while the food web has many producers, consumers, and numerous top predators.
3. In the food chain, food flows in a linear path, while in the food web, food flows in different ways at different levels.
4. A single or separate food chain creates instability in our ecosystem, on the other hand, the food web stabilizes the ecosystem.