Food chain as a system of connections in nature

All living organisms form a single, interconnected system. All of them obey certain laws of nature, the violation of which sometimes leads to irreversible phenomena. The food chain is one of the examples of connections between organisms. It has a very complex structure and unites representatives of many species of flora and fauna.

The food chain is a sequence of different kinds of living organisms, connected by the relation "food-consumer". During this process, the extraction of energy and organic substances from the previous participant of the value takes place. In another way, it can be said that the food chain is the transfer of energy through a certain number of organisms by eating each other. These links are called trophic.

Each food chain of animals and other organisms is divided into several levels, which are also called trophic.

As a rule, the first level consists of representatives of the plant world, that is, green plants, mushrooms and algae. Next come the animals that feed on plant food. The next trophic level is carnivorous animals. They feed on herbivorous representatives of the fauna.

The food chain can consist of several levels, but usually it includes 3-4 links. This is determined by the fact that most of the energy is spent on maintaining vital processes and body growth. Therefore, each subsequent level is smaller than the previous one, and the number of participants is reduced. The ratio here is: about a ton of plants account for 100 kilograms of animals that eat them. Carnivorous animals in this chain will be 10 kilograms of biomass, and the next level will be equal to 1 kilogram of a substance synthesized from biomass.

This is how an ecological pyramid is formed. It shows the number of animals, energy or biomass that the food chain has on each level.

Naturally, each link of a higher level includes individuals of a larger size. But at the same time large organisms develop more slowly and compete with each other. It is worth noting that they have fewer enemies and are exterminated much less often. The main factor constraining their development is a limited amount of food and limited territory.

The lower forms of food chain organisms are less restricted in nutrition, but are subject to significant extinction.

Depending on their composition, different types of food chains are distinguished.

1. Pasture chains are a series of links that begin with plants. They are found mainly in the sea and in terrestrial ecosystems. For example, plants absorb the energy of the sun and are a source of nutrition for insects (butterfly absorbs nectar). In turn, the dragonfly eats butterflies, and itself is food for the frog. For a frog, the danger is one that can become a victim of another predator. This is an example of the movement of organic substances along the food chain.

2. The detrimental supply chain is a decomposition chain. It begins with the products of decomposition of plants, animals. Such chains are widely represented in water bodies, oceans and lakes. Thus, many of their inhabitants use dead organisms, their excrement or externally obtained decay products (leaves from coastal trees) as food.

3. Parasitic chains consist of organisms, due to which the parasites of the first order live, etc.

All processes in nature are interrelated. Infringements in food chains lead to disturbances in the whole ecosystem. Every living organism occupies its niche in these connections. It does not depend on the level or size of the individual.