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With our consciousness of the environment growing, we are becoming more aware of the interconnectedness of life on Earth. Nature's balance is easily interrupted when we disturb the conditions that provide adequate food.
Identification
A food web is a diagram and a concept of the relationships between all organisms in a given area--in other words, who eats whom.
Characteristics
There are several levels of consumers in a food web. Producers include plants that feed the primary consumers, which are then eaten by secondary consumers. When they die, secondary consumers are taken up by decomposers like fungi, which convert the carcasses into nutrition for the producers.
Habitat
A habitat is a given area that an organism relies on for its survival. Food and shelter are main components of an organism's habitat. Other requirements include clean water and air and favorable temperatures.
Examples of Habitats
Habitats vary and so do the organisms that live in them. A few examples include grassland, coastal, riparian, underwater and forest.
Importance
A healthy habitat contributes to a sustainable food web. If one element of a habitat becomes inhospitable to an organism that lives there, population of that organism decreases and so will the food source for the organism that consumes it.
Source:
Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce
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