Chapter 20 - Predation and Food Webs

Abstract

In this chapter we first consider herbivory, detritivory, omnivory, and predation on animals. Second, we discuss adaptations of macroscopic organisms in response to being prey or predator. Third, we cover food webs and their dynamics. A food web is the network of predator–prey interactions that occurs in an ecological community. Food chains are the most simplistic view of food webs, in which only trophic levels (e.g., a single level of producers and discrete levels of consumers) are considered. Food webs and predation in lakes and streams have received a tremendous amount of attention, less so in wetlands and groundwaters. Some claim that “food webs are a central, if not the central, idea in ecology.” Though not all ecologists agree with the statement that food webs are “the” central idea in ecology, most recognize that food webs are an essential aspect of ecological interactions and must be considered with other factors, such as abiotic effects and competition.