In any ecosystem food chain is not operates in isolation. Different food chains are in operation at a time. The organisms of different food chains are interlinked. The network of different food chains in an ecosystem is called food web.
The top carnivores in a food web are the apex predators. They can obtain food from the primary, secondary or tertiary consumers of different food chains. They are not dependent on the consumers of one food chain.
It is, therefore, the top carnivores are the top consumers and are most likely to survive.
The placement of the arrows in a food chain or food web is very important. The arrows always show the direction of the energy as it is transferred from one organism to another. The flow of energy can also be represented within an energy pyramid.
