12-2 what are food chains and food webs

Food chains are diagrams that show food energy passes on through ecosystems. There are five different trophic levels in food chains. Primary producers are usually plants which produce their own nutrients. Primary consumers gain their energy by consuming primary producers. Secondary consumers then consume primary consumers, and tertiary consumers consume secondary consumers. The last level consists of apex predators, which are at the top of the food chain and have no natural predators.

Food webs are made up of many smaller food chains. While food chains follow one path in which specific animals find food, food webs follow multiple paths, usually showing how an ecosystems organisms have food relationships.