Food webs
A A network of food chains, showing how they all link together. is a network of interconnected A sequence (usually shown as a diagram) of feeding relationships between organisms, showing which organisms eat what and the movement of energy through trophic levels.. It shows the energy flow through part of an The interactions between a community of living organisms and the non-living environment in a particular area..
In a food web, changes in the population of one organism have an effect on the populations of other organisms. This is called interdependence.
Question
How many different food chains can you see in this food web?
Six. They are:
- oak tree → squirrel → fox
- oak tree → caterpillar → shrew → owl
- leaf litter → fungi
- leaf litter → earthworm → shrew → owl
- leaf litter → earthworm → wood mouse → fox
- leaf litter → earthworm → wood mouse → owl
Question
What would happen to the numbers of caterpillars if the population of wood mice decreased?
They would increase. The owls would prey more on the shrews as there would be fewer wood mice. This means there would be fewer shrews to feed on the caterpillars and their numbers would increase due to lack of predation.
Watch this video to gain further understanding of the interdependence in food webs.