Differentiate between Food chain and Food web.

A food chain and a food web both describe the flow of energy and nutrients through an ecosystem but differ in their complexity and scope.

1. Food Chain:

   • A food chain is a linear sequence that shows a direct pathway of energy transfer from one organism to another in an ecosystem.
   • It starts with a producer (usually a plant) that is consumed by a primary consumer (herbivore), which in turn is eaten by a secondary consumer (carnivore), and so on.
   • Each level in the food chain represents a trophic level, indicating the position an organism occupies in the energy transfer process.
   • Food chains are simplistic and do not account for the multiple interactions and interconnections that occur in nature.

2. Food Web:

   • A food web is a more complex and interconnected representation of feeding relationships within an ecosystem.
   • It consists of multiple interconnected food chains, illustrating the various pathways through which energy and nutrients flow.
   • In a food web, organisms can occupy multiple trophic levels and have multiple feeding relationships.
   • It includes not only producers, consumers, and decomposers but also depicts omnivory (organisms that eat both plants and animals) and the complexity of interactions among different species.
   • Food webs provide a more realistic depiction of ecosystem dynamics by accounting for the diversity of species and the intricacies of their interactions.

In summary, a food chain is a simplified linear pathway of energy transfer, while a food web is a more complex and interconnected network of feeding relationships that better represents the structure and function of an ecosystem.