Trophic Levels in Food Chains Flashcards

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What is a trophic level in a food chain?

A trophic level is a step in a food chain that shows how an organism gets its food.

Producers, such as green plants and algae, are always at trophic level 1.

A producer is an organism that makes its own food, usually by photosynthesis.

A consumer is an organism that gets energy by eating other organisms.

A primary consumer eats producers and is at trophic level 2.

A secondary consumer eats primary consumers and is at trophic level 3.

A tertiary consumer eats secondary consumers and is at trophic level 4.

An apex predator is at the highest trophic level and has no natural predators.

The rabbit is a primary consumer at trophic level 2.

Decomposers break down dead material from all trophic levels, so they are usually shown separate from the main chain.