Connection journal about food webs - Essay Example

Food Webs Every living organism requires energy for basic bodily functions that ensure their survival. This energy comes from consumption of food. The living organisms depend on each other for food, either directly or indirectly, and this relationship determines their characteristics in terms of population.An intricate relationship that displays the organism that feed on the other in an ecological community is known as a food web (Basic ecological concepts, 1). Many feeding relationship combinations in any environment are possible, giving rise to an innumerable number of food chains.

At the bottom of any food chain are producers. These are the food makers, that is, they have food production ability. These are primarily plants, which convert light energy into food through photosynthesis (Basic ecological concepts, 1).Next after producers are the primary consumers. These are the organism, low on the food chain, which depends on the producers for survival. These organisms include grazers, and herbivores. After primary consumers follow the secondary consumers. These organisms feed on the primary consumers.

At the top of the food chain are the tertiary consumers that feed on the primary consumers in the food chain. They include carnivorous animals. In a food web, a delicate balance exists between organisms at the different levels (Basic ecological concepts, 1). The tertiary consumers at the top of the food chain cannot survive without the producers at the bottom. Likewise, the absence of secondary consumers would result in an imbalance of the food chain, with the death of tertiary consumers. The primary consumers would also increase at a high rate, which would put pressure on the producers, depleting them.

Therefore, a balance of organisms at every level of the feeding chain is important and must be maintained. Just like the removal of a level, the increase or decrease of organisms in a level offsets the balance of the whole ecosystem. Removal of the producers kills the whole ecosystem. Increase in any other level of the food chain results in a decrease in the level below it, and a corresponding increase in the level above it due to increased consumers and food respectively. The highest level must be at minimum to have adequate food supply (Basic ecological concepts, 1).

Further, the lowest level must be at all high to ensure adequate food supply to the system, forming an energy pyramid (Basic ecological concepts, 1).Works Cited“Some Basic Ecological Concepts.” The Bosque Education Guide. N.p. Web.