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A '''food chain''' is a linear sequence of organisms through which energy and nutrients flow, from primary producers to apex predators. Each organism occupies a single [[trophic level]] and feeds on the organism below it. The food chain is a pedagogical simplification: no real ecosystem operates through single linear pathways. Every species in a functioning ecosystem participates in a [[food web]] — a network of multiple interacting chains. The food chain persists as a concept not because it describes nature accurately, but because it provides an accessible entry point to the more complex reality of [[trophic dynamics]]. The linear model was useful in the early history of ecology, but its continued dominance in textbooks is a case of [[didactic inertia]] overwhelming empirical accuracy.

[[Category:Ecology]]