ABSTRACT
A trophic chain is a structure that displays typical paths for the resource flow through the ecosystem. Trophic chains are often not isolated from each other, rather, they interweave, forming a trophic web. The alternative is to chose a vertical branch (a trophic chain) whose energy through-flow is much higher than the flows through all other chains, and to neglect the rest. In any case, only one trophic species remains at each trophic level after these simplifications, the trophic structure becoming a trophic chain. The trophic chain equations considered in foregoing sections were close to the Lotka-Volterra type of population equations. Theoretical population dynamics, in general, and the mathematical theory of trophic chains, in particular, can generate approaches to obtaining minimal estimates for the size of protected areas necessary to maintain a certain level of biological diversity. The loss of stability occurs once saturation is achieved in at least one trophic level.
