Food web

Food Web
In natural environment or an ecosystem, the relationships between the food chains are inter-connected. These relationships are very complex, as one organism may be a part of multiple food chains. Hence, the web like structure in place of a linear food chain if formed with the interlinked food chain and such matrix that is interconnected is known as a food web.
Food web consists of food chains of a particular ecosystem. The food web is a illustration of various methods of feeding that links the ecosystem. All the food chains are interconnected and overlapping within an ecosystem and they make up a food web.
Food webs are an indispensible part of an ecosystem; these food webs allows an organism to obtain food from more than one type of organism of the lower trophic level. If any of the intermediate food chain is removed, the succeeding links of the chain will be affected largely. The food web provides more than one alternative for food to most of the organisms in an ecosystem and therefore increases their chance of survival. Also food availability and preferences of food of the organisms may shift seasonally e.g. we eat watermelon in summer and peaches in the winter. Thus there are interconnected networks of feeding relationships that take the form of food webs.