food chain

noun

Ecology. a series of organisms interrelated in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, etc.

the chain from a food source to the ultimate consumer.

Origin of food chain

1925-30

Examples from the web for food chain

Other organisms affected by temperature change include krill, an extremely important link at the base of the food chain.
Small fish eat the micro-organisms, and large fish eat the small fish and on up the food chain.
The species of salmon used in canned salmon eat lower on the food chain than tuna, and are thus lower in toxins.
It allows you to ensure that your poultry are only eating things you feel comfortable having in your food chain.
Yet, for a low-price fast food chain, such a strategy might have raised some eyebrows.
We recognize that these top predators are key to healthy oceans and play a vital role in the food chain.
They are orders of magnitude higher than you on the judicial food chain.
The animal had large, powerful jaws, which secured the predator a place atop the local food chain.
But now it seemed as if people were fighting and dying their way down to the bottom of the food chain.
Now, with a squeeze on tenure-track jobs, even those at the top of the academic food chain are feeling big changes.

British Dictionary definitions for food chain

food chain

noun

(ecology) a sequence of organisms in an ecosystem in which each species is the food of the next member of the chain

(informal) the hierarchy in an organization or society

food chain in Science

food chain

(fd)

The sequence of the transfer of food energy from one organism to another in an ecological community. A food chain begins with a producer, usually a green plant or alga that creates its own food through photosynthesis. In the typical predatory food chain, producers are eaten by primary consumers (herbivores) which are eaten by secondary consumers (carnivores), some of which may in turn be eaten by tertiary consumers (the top carnivore in the chain). ◇ Many species of animals in an ecological community feed on both plants and animals and thus play multiple roles in the chain. Parasites feed on living tissues, generally without killing their hosts, and may themselves be hosts to smaller parasites. In addition, organisms that die without being eaten are consumed by detritivores, some of which serve as prey for other consumers. The complex system of interrelated food chains in an environment is known as a food web. See more at trophic level.

food chain in Culture

food chain definition

The series of steps by which energy is obtained, used, and transformed by living things. For example: sunlight helps grain to grow, the grain feeds cattle, and humans eat the cattle.

Note: Harmful chemicals can become concentrated as they move up the food chain.