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who propounded the concept of food web

The concept of the food web was chiefly developed and popularized by the English ecologist Charles Elton , especially through his 1927 book Animal Ecology.

Quick Scoop: Who Propounded the Food Web?

  • Key name: Charles Elton
  • Field: Ecology (study of relationships between organisms and their environment)
  • Famous work: Animal Ecology (published in 1927)
  • Linked ideas:
    • Food chains
    • Food webs
    • Ecological niche
    • Pyramid of numbers (often called the Eltonian pyramid)

A Short Story-Style Snapshot

In the early 20th century, ecologists were trying to understand how plants, herbivores, and predators were all linked together.
Charles Elton stepped in and organized these feeding relationships into food chains and then into the more realistic, interconnected food webs.

His work showed that nature isn’t just a simple “one animal eats one animal” line, but a complex network—like a woven web—of who eats whom in an ecosystem. Because of this, when exam questions or textbooks ask “Who introduced/propounded the concept of food web?” the standard, accepted answer is:

Charles Elton.

TL;DR:
The concept of the food web, as used in modern ecology and taught in textbooks and exams, is attributed to Charles Elton through his 1927 work Animal Ecology.

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