Question

Define food chain. How many types of food chain are there? Give difference between food chain and food web. Draw a linear diagram of the food chain.

Answer 1

Food chain:

1. A food chain refers to the order of events in the ecosystem, whereby one living organism eats another organism, and later that particular organism is consumed by another larger organism. The flow of nutrients & energy from one organism to another at different trophic levels forms a food chain depiction
2. The 2 types of food chains. They are:
   1. Detritus food chain:
      1. The detritus food chain begins with dead organic material. This food energy passes into decomposers & detritivores, which are further eaten by some smaller organisms like carnivores. Carnivores, like maggots, also become a meal for bigger carnivores like frogs, snakes, and so on.
      2. Primary consumers like fungi, bacteria, protozoans, and so on are detritivores that feed on detritus. This detritus food chain includes different species of organisms and plants like algae, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, mites, insects, worms, and so on.
   2. Grazing food chain:
      1. The food chain which starts with green plants passes by herbivores and then to the carnivores.
      2. In a grazing food chain, energy at the lowest trophic level is acquired from the process of photosynthesis.

Difference between food chain and food web:

Food chain	Food web
A linear pathway depicting the flow of energy.	A multitude of networks depicting the flow of energy.
An organism of higher-level trophic feeds on a specific organism of lower trophic level.	An organism of a higher trophic level has access to more members of a lower trophic level.
They have no effect on the adaptability and competitiveness between the organisms.	They have a role in improving the adaptability and competitiveness between organisms.