4.5b Food Webs

understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids of energy transfer.


-food web allows us to provide a better description of the ecosystem.
-the ecosystem is composed of the community of organisms which are interacting (feeding)
-the advantages of the food web is that it allows us to show organisms feeding at different trophic levels.
-feeding at different trophic levels has consequences

•  organisms can have multiple predators.
•  organisms may be feeding on multiple pray.
•  results in food chain becoming linked.

-PRODUCER- grass.
-PRIMARY CONSUMER- rabbit, beetle, slugs mice, wood lice.
-SECONDARY CONSUMER- small birds, badger, hawk.
-TERTIARY CONSUMER- hawk

-grass eaten by rabbit, rabbit eaten by the hawk- ( in this case hawk is also a secondary consumer)
-grass eaten by beetles, beetles eaten by small birds, small birds eaten by the hawk- (in this case the hawk is a tertiary consumer)