Which term describes the network of feeding relationships showing who eats whom in an ecosystem?

Which term describes the network of feeding relationships showing who eats whom in an ecosystem?

• A. Food Web
• B. Hydrostatic Pressure
• C. Limiting Factor
• D. Heterotroph

Answer: (A)

Understanding energy flow in ecosystems is captured by a food web, which maps the complex network of who eats whom. This shows how many species are interconnected through feeding relationships, not just a single line of consumption. In marine systems, producers like phytoplankton support a cascade of consumers—zooplankton, small fish, larger fish, and top predators—through multiple, interlinked pathways, illustrating how energy moves through the community. The other terms don’t describe these connections. Hydrostatic pressure is a physical concept related to fluids, a limiting factor is something that constrains growth or productivity, and a heterotroph is an organism that must consume organic matter but does not convey the network of who eats whom.

Understanding energy flow in ecosystems is captured by a food web, which maps the complex network of who eats whom. This shows how many species are interconnected through feeding relationships, not just a single line of consumption. In marine systems, producers like phytoplankton support a cascade of consumers—zooplankton, small fish, larger fish, and top predators—through multiple, interlinked pathways, illustrating how energy moves through the community.

The other terms don’t describe these connections. Hydrostatic pressure is a physical concept related to fluids, a limiting factor is something that constrains growth or productivity, and a heterotroph is an organism that must consume organic matter but does not convey the network of who eats whom.