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Foodwebs in the Ecosystem

Food webs refer to the path of food from the producer to the consumer. In the simplest forms, these are known as food chains. However, in the different ecosystems, webs are more appropriate due to the numerous consumers of different food sources. Most animals do not have limited diets but eat several different types of foods. A food web contains many different interlocking food chains.

Ecosystem
- The food web will vary based on the type of ecosystem being investigated. Marine ecosystems are quite different from land ecosystems. Most of the animals and plants in the food web will be found only in the marine environment, with a few exceptions. Each type of ecosystem will contain many food webs particular to that environment. Ecosystems can be very large, such as the ecosystem of the Atlantic Ocean or they can be very small, and ecosystem for an oak tree.
Levels
- Food webs will contain several different levels. Plants are considered primary producers, as the plant is a food source that is eaten by herbivores or omnivores. The herbivore is found in the second level, labelled as the primary consumer. A carnivore that then eats the herbivore is on a third level, known as a secondary consumer. The levels increase as there are carnivores that will eat the carnivores in the third level.
Body Size
- Most food webs have a trend that relates body size to levels in the web. The greater the body mass the higher the level on the web. Smaller animals require less energy and need less food to survive. This produces a type of pyramid with larger populations for animals found at the lower levels of the food web and smaller populations of larger animals at the top levels. For example, the number of plankton in the ocean is huge compared to the number of whales.
Decomposers
- Decomposers are very small organisms that consume dead biomass from animals of all the food web levels. Fungus and bacteria are two well-known decomposers. These organisms do not have a set place in the food web, as they occur at all levels. However, they are extremely important organisms that recycle minerals and nutrients that would otherwise rot and be wasted.

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