What is an expanded version of a food chain that includes multiple feeding relationships?

A food web is indeed an expanded version of a food chain that illustrates the various feeding relationships within an ecosystem. It depicts how different organisms interact and transfer energy through multiple paths rather than a linear sequence. In a food web, you can see multiple food chains interconnected, showing that most organisms consume and are consumed by different species, which reflects the complexity of natural ecosystems.

For example, a grass plant might be eaten by several herbivores, and those herbivores could in turn be preyed upon by multiple carnivores. This interconnectedness enables scientists and ecologists to understand the energy flow and nutrient cycling within the environment more comprehensively. In contrast, other terms such as food link, energy chain, and trophic network, while related to ecological concepts, are not standard terminology widely accepted as synonyms or equivalents to a food web.