Editing Ecology (section)

=== Food webs ===
{{Main|Food web}}
{{See also|Food chain}}
[[File:Chesapeake Waterbird Food Web.jpg|thumb|upright=1.65|Generalized food web of waterbirds from [[Chesapeake Bay]]]]

A food web is the archetypal [[ecological network]]. Plants capture [[solar energy]] and use it to synthesize [[simple sugars]] during [[photosynthesis]]. As plants grow, they accumulate nutrients and are eaten by grazing [[herbivores]], and the energy is transferred through a chain of organisms by consumption. The simplified linear feeding pathways that move from a basal [[trophic species]] to a top consumer is called the [[food chain]]. Food chains in an ecological community create a complex food web. Food webs are a type of [[concept map]] that is used to illustrate and study pathways of energy and material flows.<ref name="O'Neill86"/><ref name="Pimm02"/><ref name="Pimm91"/>

'''Empirical measurements''' are generally restricted to a specific habitat, such as a cave or a pond, and principles gleaned from small-scale studies are extrapolated to larger systems.<ref name="Worm03"/> Feeding relations require extensive investigations, e.g. into the gut contents of organisms, which can be difficult to decipher, or stable isotopes can be used to trace the flow of nutrient diets and energy through a food web.<ref name="McCann07"/> Despite these limitations, food webs remain a valuable tool in understanding community ecosystems.<ref name="Wilbur97"/>

Food webs illustrate important '''principles of ecology''': some species have many weak feeding links (e.g., [[omnivores]]) while some are more specialized with fewer stronger feeding links (e.g., [[predator|primary predators]]). Such linkages explain how ecological communities remain stable over time<ref name="Emmerson"/><ref name="Kraus03"/> and eventually can illustrate a "complete" web of life.<ref name="Pimm91"/><ref name="Egerton07b"/><ref name="Shurin06"/><ref name="Edwards83"/>

The '''disruption of food webs''' may have a dramatic impact on the ecology of individual species or whole ecosystems. For instance, the replacement of an [[ant]] species by another (invasive) ant species has been shown to affect how [[elephant]]s reduce tree cover and thus the predation of [[lion]]s on [[zebra]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gaynor |first=Kaitlyn M. |date=2024-01-26 |title=A big-headed problem drives an ecological chain reaction |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn3484 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=383 |issue=6681 |pages=370–371 |doi=10.1126/science.adn3484 |pmid=38271504 |bibcode=2024Sci...383..370G |issn=0036-8075}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kamaru |first1=Douglas N. |last2=Palmer |first2=Todd M. |last3=Riginos |first3=Corinna |last4=Ford |first4=Adam T. |last5=Belnap |first5=Jayne |last6=Chira |first6=Robert M. |last7=Githaiga |first7=John M. |last8=Gituku |first8=Benard C. |last9=Hays |first9=Brandon R. |last10=Kavwele |first10=Cyrus M. |last11=Kibungei |first11=Alfred K. |last12=Lamb |first12=Clayton T. |last13=Maiyo |first13=Nelly J. |last14=Milligan |first14=Patrick D. |last15=Mutisya |first15=Samuel |date=2024-01-26 |title=Disruption of an ant-plant mutualism shapes interactions between lions and their primary prey |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg1464 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=383 |issue=6681 |pages=433–438 |doi=10.1126/science.adg1464 |pmid=38271503 |bibcode=2024Sci...383..433K |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>