Food Webs / Energy Pyramids

Front

What is a food web?

Back

A food web is a complex network of feeding relationships among various organisms in an ecosystem, showing how energy and nutrients flow through different trophic levels.

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What is a primary consumer?

Back

A primary consumer is an organism that eats producers (plants) to obtain energy, such as herbivores like rabbits and moths.

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What is a producer?

Back

A producer is an organism that can make its own food using sunlight, typically through photosynthesis, such as plants and algae.

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What is a predator?

Back

A predator is an organism that hunts and eats other organisms (prey) for energy.

Front

What is an energy pyramid?

Back

An energy pyramid is a graphical representation that shows the flow of energy at different trophic levels in an ecosystem, with producers at the base and top predators at the apex.

Front

What happens to a food web if a top predator is removed?

Back

If a top predator is removed, the populations of its prey may increase, which can lead to overgrazing or depletion of producers.

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What is a trophic level?

Back

A trophic level is a position in a food chain or food web, defined by how an organism obtains its energy, such as producers, primary consumers, and secondary consumers.

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What is the role of decomposers in a food web?

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Decomposers break down dead organic matter and waste, returning nutrients to the soil and making them available for producers.

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How do energy and nutrients flow in a food web?

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Energy flows from producers to consumers and then to decomposers, while nutrients cycle through the ecosystem.

Front

What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

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A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms where each is eaten by the next, while a food web is a more complex network of interconnected food chains.