Food Webs

...

Another important part of this case study has to do with trophic status. Trophic status can be determined by simply determining what position each of the species holds on the food chain. In this kind of web, the trophic status of a vertex can be defined as the length of a directed path from the vertex to the bottom. It has been determined that the more complex a systems trophic status is then the more stable that system becomes. The study goes on to describe how these trophic conditions can be calculated using a multitude of different methods and theorems.

A food web is more accurate than a food chain. Animals eat different things, and are eaten by different things, a web will show all or most of its predators and prey, whereas a food chain will only show one predator and one prey. The food web stabilizes the ecosystem and more energy is transferred. Through food webs we also get to know the topmost predators of an ecosystem; we get a better understanding of how plants and animals are interconnected by different paths. Discrete mathematics provides us with the ability to turn real world complexities into solvable problems. By using graphs and assumed factors we can almost determine the relationship between anything. When we learn something new people often ask, “How will I use this information in the real world”, with discrete mathematics, it is obvious how it can be applied to real world applications (National Geographic).

References

Food Web. National Geographic. Retrieved from http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/food-web/

McGuigan, R.A.. (n.d). Applications of Discrete Mathematics. Food Webs.