Food is something without which no living organism can live and develop. Plants are such living organisms that can independently create food for themselves from almost nothing. Others feed on what was created without their participation.
What is a food chain?
The biosphere is huge and multifaceted. It includes a variety of creatures. Both beautiful and terrible. But all these beings are connected with each other. Sometimes these connections are imperceptible, and sometimes the existence of another depends on one species. The most obvious connection between living beings is food. Food chains are also called trophic.
Plants are creatures that are capable of photosynthesis. This means that if there is carbon dioxide, sun and water, they can survive. Animals are not capable of this. Therefore, the vast majority of food chains begin with plants.
Trophic chains are different. They are divided into two groups. Those trophic chains that begin with a producer are called pasture chains. But there are those whostart with waste. For example, from the corpses of animals. Such chains are called detrital.
Producers, consumers and decomposers are distinguished among living organisms.
Producers
Many food chains start with producers. This is the name of all those organisms that independently produce nutrients for themselves. The most famous producers are green plants that are capable of photosynthesis. But they can also include chemotrophic bacteria, which can do without even the participation of sunlight.
Consumers
But not all participants in food chains can get by with a minimum. Most need for life what was produced by others. Such consumers are called consumers. But even among them, groups of different types of food can be distinguished.
Some animals eat plants. They also enter the food chains. Their trophic level is slightly higher than the plant. In turn, they will also become someone's dinner.
Those who need meat to live are called predators. This is a new level. They are forced to go hunting in order to find food for themselves. In order to get food, they must use all their tricks to track down and capture the prey. Each predator has a whole list of preferences. This helps different species to survive even in the most difficult times. This is especially important now, because many species are on the verge of extinction.
Decomposers
Food chains include such unusual organisms asdecomposers. These are the living beings who are called "gravediggers of nature." They help waste and corpses decompose into simpler components. Decomposers feed on what no one else is interested in.
Corpse or waste, the decomposer helps to decompose, is called detritus. Therefore, the food chain, which begins in such an unusual way, is detrital.
There are a large number of different decomposers. Among them are fungi, bacteria, saprophages, necrophages and coprophages.
Saprophages are those decomposers that feed on the corpses of other living beings. Necrophages also feed on corpses and carrion. Coprophages feed on the organic waste of living beings. All these organisms help to preserve the purity of nature, to give a place for life and growth of new living organisms. Despite the fact that some consider these living creatures disgusting, it is impossible to imagine a he althy biosphere without them.
Examples of food chains
It's not easy to study food chains. Examples will help to understand who feeds on whom. The most common is the pasture food chain. It starts with a plant. So, you can start with cereals. They are included in the list of predilections of hares. Hares are consumers of the first order. Wolves eat hares. Wolves are second order consumers.
Mice also love cereals. Mice in this trophic chain become first-order consumers. Sometimes mice become victims of hedgehogs. Hedgehogs are consumers of the second order. They also cannot be calm for their lives, because onthey are hunted by foxes. The latter will become consumers of the third order.
Food chains can also be found in water. You can start with phytoplankton, which is able to feed itself on its own. But they feed on zooplankton. Zooplankton is the food of small fish. And they, in turn, become a favorite delicacy of pike. But it can also become someone's food.
The longest food chains can be found in the ocean. In such chains, there are even consumers of the fifth and sixth order. Everyone can do a little research. This is very interesting and allows you to better understand the world around you.
Detrital food chains don't include so many participants. Usually they contain only waste or a corpse and a creature that feeds on it. The most famous decomposers are bacteria and fungi.
Food webs
Trophic chains are not able to fully reflect the entire life of the biosphere. After all, if we assume that all hares have died out, wolves and foxes will not die. They will simply feed on other animals, although the number of these predators will decrease. This natural balance is maintained thanks to food webs.
The same hare can eat different plants. He can eat cereals, oats, lichen, clover and more. The wolf can also eat different animals that differ from each other even in size. Food chains and webs help nature strike a balance so that living beings can survive if a specieswill disappear from the face of the Earth.
Food webs are sometimes very, very confusing. It is not easy to figure out how many animals want to eat some kind of plant and from which individuals any small animal is hiding. You can compose a large number of different food webs. They are especially rich where a large number of living beings side by side.
The world surrounding a person keeps many mysteries and interesting moments. One of them is food chains and networks. Nature's carefully crafted food chains help a variety of plants and animals coexist in relative peace with each other, find food for themselves and their young, and clean up their habitats of what has outlived its useful life.
