There is a branch of ecology, called synecology, that studies the relationships between ecosystems and communities of individuals. Within synecology, there is a responsible part of the studies of the relationships between living beings, including food relationships, which is summarized in food chains, as is the case with the aquatic food chain.
Synecology explains that food chains are how energy and matter move from one stage of production to another, also taking into account energy losses, such as breathing. In this article by Animal Expert, we will explain what an aquatic food chain is, starting with the definition of the food chain and the food network.
- First.
- To understand the complexity of aquatic food chains.
- It is necessary to know the differences between food chains and food networks and what each is.
A trophic chain shows how matter and energy move within an ecosystem through different organisms, linearly and unidirectionally, always starting from an autotrophic being that is the main producer of matter and energy because it is capable of transforming. Inorganic matter in organic and non-assimilable energy sources, such as the conversion of sunlight into ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the energy source of living beings). Matter and energy created by autotrophs will pass to other heterotrophs or consumers, who may be primary, secondary and tertiary consumers.
On the other hand, a food network or food network is a set of interconnected food chains, which show a much more complex movement of energy and matter. Food networks reveal what is really happening in nature, because they represent the multiple relationships between living beings.
The basic pattern of a food chain does not vary much between a terrestrial system and an aquatic system, the most severe differences in species and the amount of biomass accumulated, being higher in terrestrial ecosystems. Here are some species from the aquatic food chain:
In the aquatic food chain, the primary producers are algae, whether single-celled, such as those belonging to phyla Glaucophyta, Rhodophyta and Chlorophyta, or multicellular, those of the superfilo Heterokonta, which are algae that can be seen with the nude. eye on beaches, etc. In addition, bacteria of this level can be found in the chain, cyanobacteria, which also perform photosynthesis.
The main consumers of the aquatic food chain are usually herbivorous animals that feed on microscopic or macroscopic algae and even bacteria. This level usually consists of zooplankton and other herbivorous organisms.
Secondary consumers differ by being carnivorous animals, which feed on lower-level herbivores. They can be fish, arthropods, waterfowl or mammals.
Tertiary consumers are supercarnivores, carnivorous animals that feed on other carnivores, which bind secondary consumers.
In the food chain, we can see that the arrows indicate a one-way direction:
There are varying degrees of complexity in food chains. Here are a few examples:
Em um ecossistema natural, as relações não são tão simples. As cadeias alimentares são feitas para simplificar as relações tróficas e para que possamos entendê-las mais facilmente, mas as cadeias interagem entre si dentro de uma rede complexa de teias alimentares. Um dos exemplos de uma teia alimentar aquática pode ser o desenho seguinte, onde podemos observar como uma cadeia alimentar é integrada e várias setas que indicam um número superior de interações alimentares e fluxos de energia entre os seres:
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