Do you want to know the difference between Food chain and Food web? You don’t need to worry, we will give you a deep knowledge between these two.

The Food chain can be said as the straight and single pathway for the flow of energy in an ecosystem, through different species of organisms. Food web is defined as the convoluted or complicated pathway of an ecosystem consists of numerous food chains of the different trophic level, through which the energy flow.

Here is the definition of food chain and food web separately before moving directly to the difference between them.

Food Chain

Food chain is a model that shows flow of energy and nutrients from one organism to another organism in an ecosystem. The length of a food chain depends upon the number of organisms.

It starts from producer species such as tress or grass and ending at apex predator species such as grizzly bears or killer whales; detrivores such as earthworms or woodlice; or decomposer species like fungi or bacteria. 

Food Web

Food web or food cycle is the connection between food chains and what species eats what in an ecological system. Most communities in food web include various populations of producer organisms which are eaten by any number of consumer populations.

In food web, producers are eaten by many different consumers, and most consumers onward are eaten by more than one predator.  

A food web starts with the producers in ecosystem and then branches off into interconnected food chains that show that eats whom in ecosystem.

Let’s see how food chain differs from food web.

Meaning

The flow of energy through a single straight pathway from the lower trophic level to the higher trophic level is called food chain on the other hand the interconnected, numerous food chains through which the energy flow in the ecosystem is called food web.

Number of Chains

Food chain consists of only one straight chain where as food web consists of many interconnected food chains.

Trophic Level

Food chain consists of only 4-6 trophic levels of different species on the other hand food web contain numerous trophic levels also of different populations of species.

Stability

In food chain the instability increases due to increasing number of separate and confined food chains but in food web the stability increases due to the presence of the complex food chains.

Types

Food chain is of two types- Grazing food chain and Detritus food chain whereas food web does not have any type.