Ecologists at Cornell University and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies report in Nature that food-chain length is determined by the size of an ecosystem, not by the amount of available energy.

Ecosystems can be terrestrial (land-based) or aquatic (water-based), ranging from tiny ponds to vast forests. Food chains and food webs interconnect organisms within an ecosystem.

A food chain describes a single pathway that energy and nutrients may follow in an ecosystem. There is one organism per trophic level, and trophic levels are therefore easily defined.

As fearsome apex predators at the top of the food chain, ... Beavers are ecosystem engineers that generate most wetland creation throughout boreal ecosystems. By studying beaver pond creation and ...

For example, looking at the food chains and ecosystem niches in my own garden has allowed me to recognize that I should let voles (to give one example) inhabit the space. A Vole’s Role in a Garden ...

Lochow Ranch has worked on thousands of private ponds and lakes, and says maintaining a healthy aquatic ecosystem starts with the basics. Among the most important is a well-established food chain.

Climate change sparks Alaska farm boom 02:33. Dead and dying seabirds collected on the coasts of the northern Bering and southern Chukchi seas over the past six years reveal how the Arctic's fast ...