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Performance Task

Food Webs

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  • Did You Know?

Identifying Food Sources

Identifying Food Sources

The food web shown represents the relationships among chimpanzees, insects, and monkeys in the region described on the Explore tab. These relationships are also represented in matrix $$A$$. Explain how the matrix is related to the food web. Then find and interpret $$A^2$$.

Local government officials plan to use an insecticide to drastically reduce the insect population. Create a matrix $$B$$ to represent the entire food web above. Then find and interpret $$B^2$$ and $$B^3$$. Use the matrices to explain the potential impact of this plan. (Hint: Make sure the animal represented by each row of your matrix matches the animal represented by the corresponding column.)


Relationships amond chimpanzees, insects, and monkeys shown as a food web and matrix (A).

Did You Know?

  • Each living organism in an ecosystem is part of multiple food chains.
  • All organisms in a food chain are grouped into one of three categories called trophic levels.
    1. Producers make their own food and do not depend on other organisms for nutrition. Producers are also known as autotrophs. Plants are the most common type of autotroph.
    2. Consumers are animals that eat producers and other consumers.
      • Primary consumers eat plants, algae and other producers.
      • Secondary consumers eat primary consumers.
      • Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers.
      • There can be many consumer levels in a food chain until it reaches its top predator. Top predators, also called apex predators, have no natural enemies except humans.
    3. Decomposers are organisms that eat nonliving plant and animal remains. Decomposers, like fungi and bacteria, complete the food chain.
  • Food webs can be very complicated. They connect many different food chains and trophic levels.

Find Out More — Search Topics

  • Food web
  • Food chain