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GCSE Biology · key term
A network of interconnected food chains showing feeding relationships within a community.
Used by Edexcel and OCR
Specification 9.3 · Paper 2
Revise: InterdependenceBecause most animals have more than one food source and most organisms are eaten by more than one consumer, the feeding relationships form a food web, not a set of isolated food chains.
Specification B4.1h · Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 4 (Higher)
A network of interconnected food chains showing feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
Revise: Trophic levelsA trophic level is a feeding position in a food chain, or in one pathway through a food web. Organisms at different trophic levels differ in how they obtain their food and from which organisms they receive biomass and chemical energy.
Paper 1 (Foundation), Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 3 (Higher), Paper 4 (Higher)
A network of interconnected food chains showing feeding relationships in a community.
Revise: Interdependence and CompetitionA food web joins several food chains to represent feeding relationships within a community. Each arrow points from the organism being eaten to the organism that eats it, showing the direction in which biomass is transferred.
In a food web, check the arrow convention before answering. Arrows normally point from the organism being eaten to the consumer, showing the direction of energy transfer.
In a food web, trace one pathway at a time. The same organism can occupy different trophic levels in different pathways.
When interpreting a food web, follow the arrows in the direction of biomass transfer: from the organism being eaten to the organism that eats it.
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