Food chains are the numerous branches which are crossed with each other forming trophic levels. In the nature there are pasturable and detritny food chains. The first on another call "vyedaniye chains", and the second "decomposition chains".
Trophic chains in the nature
One of the key concepts necessary for understanding of life of the nature, the concept "a food (trophic) chain" is. It can be considered in the simplified, generalized view: plants ‒ herbivorous ‒ predators, but in the nature food chains much more branched and difficult.
On links of a food chain there is transmission of energy and substances up to which 90% it is lost upon transition from one level to another. For this reason usually is present at a chain 3 ‒ 5 links.
Trophic chains join in the general circulation of substances in the nature. As real communications in an ecosystem rather branched, for example, many animals including the person, eat both plants, and herbivorous, and predators, power-supply circuits are always crossed among themselves, forming food networks.
Types of food chains
Conditionally trophic chains divide into pasturable and detritny. Both those, and others equally at the same time function in the nature. Pasturable trophic chains ‒ it relationship of various groups of organisms on a way of food which separate links are united by the relations on type "eaten ‒ eating".
The simplest example of a food chain: cereal ‒ mouse ‒ fox; or grass ‒ deer ‒ wolf.
Detritny food chains represent interaction of the dead of herbivorous, predatory animals and dead vegetable organic chemistry with detrity. Detrit ‒ this general name for various groups of the microorganisms and products of their activity which are taking part in decomposition of remains of plants and animals. These are mushrooms and bacteria (redutsenta). There is also a power-supply circuit connecting redutsent and predators: (earthworm) ‒ the predator (thrush) ‒ a predator (hawk) detrit ‒ detritofag.
Ecological pyramid
In the nature food chains not of a statsionarna, they branch strongly and crossed, forming so-called trophic levels. For example, in the "cereal herbivore" system, trophic level includes a set of the plant species used by this animal, and at the level "herbivorous" there are numerous species of herbivores. Trophic levels form a food pyramid (ecological pyramid) in which in a schematic look levels on which there is a transfer of energy from redutsent are designated (detrit) to producers (plants, seaweed). From them to primary konsument (herbivorous). From them to secondary (predatory animals) and to tertiary konsument (the predators eating predators and parasites).