Transcript Food Web
When a zebra eats the grass, it does not obtain
all of the energy the grass has
When a lion eats a zebra, it does not get all of
the energy from the zebra
The energy flow from one trophic level to the
other is know as a food chain
A food chain is simple and direct
It involves organisms at separate trophic levels
Notice that the direction the arrow
points the arrow points in the
direction of the energy transfer
The arrow indicates “is eaten by”
The linkages in a food web illustrate the feeding
pathways
The food web is an illustration of the various feeding
methods that links an ecosystem into a unified
system of exchange.
If “something happens” to one member of the food
web, it will affect the entire ecosystem.
Niche: the role the organism has in an ecosystem
Niches exist in food webs; if more than one species
occupies the same niche in a food web, they will
eventually need to compete to resources.