Which model links organisms by their feeding relationships?

• A. Food chain
• B. Food web
• C. Nutrient cycle
• D. Ecosystem

Answer: (A)

Understanding how energy moves in a community is captured by showing who eats whom. A food web does this by connecting many species through feeding relationships, creating a network of energy pathways from producers up to apex consumers and including omnivores and decomposers. It reflects the complexity of real ecosystems where organisms have multiple food sources and predators. In contrast, a food chain describes a single, linear sequence of feeding—someone eats someone else, in a straight line—so it doesn’t capture the many interconnections. A nutrient cycle tracks the movement of chemical elements like carbon and nitrogen through air, water, soil, and organisms, not feeding connections. An ecosystem refers to the whole system, including abiotic factors, but the specific model that links organisms by feeding relationships is the food web.