There is quite a big difference between a food chain and food web, or more specifically, the difference between food real estate and food-web design. The former is simply a linear flow of nutrients and energy from one trophic level to another. The latter is more of a combination of multiple food chains, each connected to the next, and each with their own different set of resources. Food web design concentrates on using real estate to represent the actual living spaces that surround food chain objects. This is done by the placement of trees and other objects to provide for a dense concentration of food resources, and by the design of the space itself. Each food chain has a specific set of organisms that it feeds on and uses up the energy and nutrients for itself.
The main organisms within any food chain are: the plant that produces food for itself, an animal that harvesting the plant and takes it to the market for another animal to eat, and the bacteria that breaks down the plant to create methane, which is then released into the air. These are the main food chain organisms, and they are always in a dynamic state of evolution, adjusting to the changes that occur within their environment. These constant adaptive processes between the different organisms keep the entire system functioning properly.
On the other hand, the food web is much more simple – It only has two levels – the upper and the lower trophic levels. At the upper level there is only a single organism that directly feeds off of another, while at the lower level there are multiple organisms, each feeding off of the others.
As food chains spread out and become larger – the differences between them tend to become less significant. The actual structures of the organisms within each food chain remain the same, with only slight differences in their efficiency to get the job done. As the number of organisms increase, however, the differences in their efficiency start to become significant. As a result, there are now two types of food chains – the detritus food chain and the grazing food chain. Each has its own purposes and benefits.
The detritus food chain functions to break down – matter so that it can be digested and used by other organisms. This is the typical digestive process in which matter is bombarded back through the gut where it is mixed with bacteria in order to break it down into smaller compounds. As the bacteria go about this task, they also consume some of the nutrients along the way, leaving some of the matter for the higher trophic levels. When the matter reaches the lower trophic level, the higher trophic levels start to process it, making it into energy or biomass that can be used or released as food.
In contrast, the grazing food chain – works by allowing organisms to move from the detritus food source to the vegetation or green plants. In doing so, the organisms are able to feed off the higher trophic levels in the plants. This process allows the organisms to gain access to a wide range of nutrients that are needed in order to survive. In the absence of the organisms that feed off of the higher trophic levels in the vegetation or green plants, life cannot continue.
Because of this, there are two different ways for life to exist – either the survival of the living and the death of the non-living.
