by 
The Curious Bag
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Food chains and food webs are both visual diagrams of the transfer of energy from one species to another in an ecosystem. Food chains are simpler than food webs because they leave out many species and connections.
Arrows
The arrows in food chains and food webs show the transfer of energy as one organism is eaten by another. Arrows always point to the animal that is eating.
Linear
Food chains are linear, with each animal in the chain shown as only eating one type of food and being eaten by one type of animal. For example, rabbits eat grass, snakes eat rabbits, and hawks eat snakes.
Complex
Food webs include more plants and animals in their representation of the ecosystem than food chains. Many animals eat grass, including rabbits, mice and deer, so in a food web, these will all have arrows pointing to them from grass.
Impact
Food webs offer a more complete picture of the results of changes in an ecosystem. If one species were to die out, it would seem from a food chain that the animal that eats it would die too. However, a food web would show that there are other food sources for that animal.
Ecosystem
Both food chains and food webs serve the same basic purpose, which is to show the flow of energy through an ecosystem. Food chains and food webs do not include animals in the same diagram who do not live in the same area.
Source:
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: Fitting Algae into the Food Web
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