In the food chain, it was explained that the flow of energy through living beings is in the form of a straight long chain. For example, plants (producers) are eaten by rats. The snake eats the mouse. Snakes are eaten by owls and eagles. Actually this sequence is incomplete. This sequence does not show that the same plants can be eaten by rabbits or other herbivorous animals other than rats, and Rats can be eaten by other animals than snakes and snakes can also be eaten by other animals than eagles. When we all think about relationships together, a food web is formed.
Read this article to know about food chain in detail - food chain
In natural conditions the food chains do not operate independently. They are interconnected with each other forming a sort of interlocking pattern which is called food web. In ecosystem no food chain is independent. Food web maintains the stability of the ecosystem by providing alternate source of food and allowing the endangered population to grow in size. Food web also helps in checking the over populations of highly species of animals and plants. Sometimes organisms operate at more than one trophic level e.g., Human beings are not only herbivores but they are carnivores also of different trophic levels. Jackals are both carnivores and scavengers. Wild cats prey upon mice as wells as birds and squirrels, snakes feed on mice as well as frogs and wolf eats not only fox but also rabbits and deer. Food web shows many alternative pathways which are very useful in maintaining stability of ecosystem.
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| A food web in a grassland ecosystem |
Grass → Grasshopper → Lizard → Hawk
Grass → Mouse → Hawk
Grass → Rabbit → Hawk
Grass → Mouse → Snake → Hawk
Grass → Grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk
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