An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own.
The lion is the world's second-largest big cat and serves as an apex land predator in Africa.
The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile and the dominant predator throughout its range.
The great skua is an aerial apex predator, both preying on other seabirds and bullying them for their catches.
The wolf is both an apex predator and a keystone species, affecting its prey's behaviour and the wider ecosystem.
A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web, often starting with an autotroph, also called a producer, and typically ending at an apex predator, detritivore, or decomposer. It is not the same as a food web. A food chain depicts relations between species based on what they consume for energy in trophic levels, and they are most commonly quantified in length-the number of links between a trophic consumer and the base of the chain.
This food web of waterbirds from Chesapeake Bay is a network of food chains
The Sea otter is a prime example of a keystone species