Food chain
Food Chain
The Food Chain (pronunciation: /fuːd tʃeɪn/) is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another. The levels in the food chain are called trophic levels.
Etymology
The term "Food Chain" comes from the English words "food" (meaning nourishment) and "chain" (meaning a series of things connected or following in succession).
Definition
In an ecological community, the food chain is the sequence of transfers of matter and energy in the form of food from organism to organism. Food chains intertwine locally into a food web because most organisms consume more than one type of animal or plant.
Related Terms
- Producer: Organisms, like plants, that can make their own food through photosynthesis.
- Consumer: Organisms that must eat (i.e., consume) other organisms to obtain their energy.
- Decomposer: Organisms, like bacteria and fungi, that break down dead organisms and waste materials into nutrients.
- Trophic level: The position an organism occupies in a food chain.
- Food web: A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Food chain
- Wikipedia's article - Food chain
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