At a glance
Key signals
0% cross fields · reaches 5 more
- Biology
- Explanation
- Examples
- Misconception
- Sourced relations 5
- Attribution
Dependencies
What this concept builds on and what it makes possible — derived from the atlas’s dependency, causal and structural relations, not from every related edge.
Foundations · builds on
Primary productionenablesFood chainEstablished
primary production enables Food chain.
Mechanism: Primary production powers the food chain: plants and algae convert sunlight into the chemical energy every consumer above depends on.
- Biology 2e (OpenStax) (2018) verified
Food chaindepends onProducer (autotroph)Established
A food chain depends on producers.
Mechanism: Producers capture the energy that then flows to every consumer along the chain.
System context
Food chainis part ofEcosystemEstablished
Food chain is part of ecosystem.
Mechanism: A food chain traces the flow of energy through an ecosystem: from producers to herbivores to predators, each eaten by the next.
- Wikidata verifiedmoderate evidence
Food chainis part ofFood webEstablished
A food chain is one path through a food web.
Mechanism: A food chain is one path through a food web: a single line of who-eats-whom, while the web bundles many such chains together.
- Biology 2e (OpenStax) (2018) verified
Herbivoreis part ofFood chainEstablished
herbivore is part of Food chain.
Mechanism: A herbivore is the first consumer link of a food chain: it eats plants and passes their captured energy up to predators.
- Biology 2e (OpenStax) (2018) verified
Planktonis part ofFood chainEstablished
Plankton begins the marine food chain.
Mechanism: Drifting phytoplankton capture sunlight, feeding the animals that everything larger in the sea depends on.
Trophic levelis part ofFood chainEstablished
trophic level is part of Food chain.
Mechanism: A trophic level is one rung of the food chain — a group of organisms that all obtain energy at the same step, such as all the herbivores.
- Wikidata verifiedmoderate evidence
Structural role & consequence
Interpreted from the current atlas graph — what the connections mean, not just how many there are.
Currently dark in the atlas: no key date stored · 7 of 7 of its relations lack claim-level evidence.
atlas representation · Describes the current Thinking OS representation, not the state of the world.
Builds on 2 foundations (requires / depends-on / derived-from / emerges-from).
structural · Structural graph analysis — not a claim of importance, causation or history.
Exercises 2 annotated mental models — a concept that connects several thinking patterns.
curated · Curated annotations, not a derived measure.
Structural neighbourhood: 7 → 40 → 124 concepts reachable within 3 hops.
structural · Structural reach — being reachable is not the same as being understood.
cross-field
7 within-field, 0 cross-field
Strengths & constraints
Constraints
- Evidence coverage currently thin in the atlas — few of its relationships carry claim-level evidence. atlas representation
- No dated history stored — the atlas records no key date for this concept. atlas representation
Conditions
- Its dependency reading rests on 2 foundation relations. structural
- Read structurally — most of its relationships carry no external evidence yet, so claims here are graph-derived. structural
Dependency radial
What this concept builds on (left) and what it makes possible (right) — derived from dependency and causal relations.
Seen through each discipline
How this concept sits in each of its fields — derived from its real connections in the graph, not asserted.
Through this lens it connects to Ecosystem, Food web, Producer (autotroph) and Primary production.
What it looks like
Concrete cases that make this idea recognisable in the real world.
Grass, rabbit, fox
Grass captures sunlight, a rabbit eats the grass, and a fox eats the rabbit. Energy that began as sunlight passes along the chain, and much of it is lost as heat at each step.
Where you'll meet it
Journeys that walk you through this idea. You may recognise it from more than one.
Related ideas to explore
Concepts that look related but are not yet connected here — candidates for a connection to reason about, not established links.
This idea also appears in…
The same structure shows up in other disciplines. These are real recurrences drawn from the graph — a starting point for asking “what carries over, and what changes?”
Networks51 disciplines · 38 concepts
Energy transformation36 disciplines · 52 concepts
Concepts
shares a mental model · shares a mental model
shares a mental model
shares a mental model
shares a mental model
shares a mental model
shares a mental model
Curriculum alignment
Austria · AHS Unterstufe (Sekundarstufe I) · Biologie und Umweltbildung
Appears in official curriculum objectives
Understand ecological relationships, biodiversity, and human influences in the context of agriculture. · 4. Klasse (8. Schulstufe)
Exact wording: „Ökologische Zusammenhänge, Biodiversität und anthropogene Einflüsse im Bereich der Landwirtschaft“
How this official objective connects, through canonical knowledge, to what a learner actually does — each link is real data, never a coverage claim.
Canonical concept
- How each concept relates to the objective
- named — The objective's own wording names this concept.
- supports — Helps meet the objective, but is not strictly required.
- context — Enrichment or framing around the objective.
Relations & mental models
1 canonical relations connect these concepts
- Climate influences Agriculture
Mental models these concepts carry: Energy transformationFeedback loopNetworksTrade-offsActivity → Observable evidence
1 activities engage these concepts
transferred a patternWhat those activities are designed to make observable — designed intent, not proof of learning.
Provenance
- Authority
- BMBWF
- Document
- BGBl. II Nr. 1/2023
- Section
- Anlage A zu Art. 4 · Biologie und Umweltbildung · Anwendungsbereiche, 4. Klasse (S. 113)
- Version
- Stammfassung, Kundmachung 2. Jänner 2023
- School type
- AHS Unterstufe (Sekundarstufe I)
- Subject
- Biologie und Umweltbildung
- Stage
- lower-secondary
- Accessed
- 2026-09-17
✓ Source verified
Analyse ecosystems with their material and energy cycles, environmental factors and succession. · 6. Klasse · 4. Semester (Kompetenzmodul 4)
Exact wording: „Ökosysteme (Stoff- und Energiekreisläufe, Umweltfaktoren, Sukzession, Konvergenzerscheinungen)“
How this official objective connects, through canonical knowledge, to what a learner actually does — each link is real data, never a coverage claim.
Canonical concept
- How each concept relates to the objective
- named — The objective's own wording names this concept.
- supports — Helps meet the objective, but is not strictly required.
Relations & mental models
1 canonical relations connect these concepts
- Food chain depends on Producer (autotroph)
Mental models these concepts carry: Energy transformation ×2Networks ×2Stocks and flows ×2ConservationFeedback loopActivity → Observable evidence
1 activities engage these concepts
predicted a what-if outcomeWhat those activities are designed to make observable — designed intent, not proof of learning.
Provenance
- Authority
- BMBWF
- Document
- Lehrpläne AHS (RIS Gesetzesnummer 10008568, Stammfassung BGBl. Nr. 88/1985)
- Section
- Anlage A · Biologie und Umweltbildung · Oberstufe, 6. Klasse, Kompetenzmodul 4
- Version
- Bundesrecht konsolidiert, Fassung vom 2026-09-17 (zuletzt geändert BGBl. II Nr. 204/2024); Anlage A in Kraft aufsteigend ab 5. Kl. 2024
- School type
- AHS Oberstufe
- Subject
- Biologie und Umweltbildung
- Stage
- upper-secondary
- Accessed
- 2026-09-17
✓ Source verified
Pilot slice: mapped to selected official objectives, not a coverage claim. Concept identity is canonical and never redefined by a curriculum.
Mental models at work here
Networks
A set of parts connected so that a change in one can spread to others through the links.
Follow the links: who is connected to whom, and what can travel along those connections?
Energy transformation
Energy is never created or destroyed; it changes from one form into another, and some is always lost as heat.
Follow the energy: where did it come from, what form is it in now, and where does it go next?
- Connects 7 other ideas across 1 discipline.
- A cross-disciplinary bridge — its connections reach into 5 other fields.
- Most of its connections are of the “Kind & structure” kind.
- It exercises 2 reusable thinking patterns.
- It supports 2 curriculum objectives.
- It features in 1 learning journey.
Derived from the graph’s real structure — observations, not a score.
Sources
- Down the food chain (2009) verified
- The food chain dynamics of the oyster, clam, and mussel in an aquaculture food chain (1973) verified