Part 07 · Ecosystems and food chains · Card 7 of 11
Food web
A diagram of many food chains joined together, showing who eats whom in an ecosystem.
Last updated
Analogy
A road map instead of a single road.
In practice
If one species disappears, a food web shows which others are affected.
Practice
Flashcards
- Why is a food web more realistic than a food chain?Most animals eat more than one food.
Questions people ask
What happens to a food web if one species is removed?
Species that fed on it lose a food source and may decline. Species it ate may increase because there are fewer predators. These changes spread, which is why removing a keystone species, one that other species depend on heavily, can change the whole community.
What is bioaccumulation?
Some poisons, such as certain pesticides or mercury, are not broken down or excreted. They build up in an animal's body as it eats contaminated food. Animals at the top of the food chain eat many contaminated animals, so they end up with the highest, most harmful amounts.