Download Trophic Levels

Trophic Levels
• Trophic Levels are levels of the ecosystem
that are determined by the organism’s
source of energy. Energy moves from one
trophic level to the next.
Food Webs
• Food Webs are more complex than a
single food chain. It shows interrelated
food chains in an ecosystem. Food webs
are helpful for seeing how energy moves
through an ecosystem.
Food Chains
• Food Chains show the path of energy
through the trophic levels. As energy
moves through the trophic levels, some
energy is lost as heat
Energy Pyramid
• An energy pyramid is a diagram in which each trophic level is
represented by a block.
• Blocks are stacked on top of one another, with the lowest trophic
level on the bottom. The width of each block is determined by the
amount of energy stored in the organisms at that trophic level.
Because the energy stored by the organisms at each trophic level
is about one-tenth the energy stored by the organisms in the level
below, the diagram takes the shape of a pyramid.
Predator
• Predator refers to any animals that hunt
other animals for food.
Prey
• Prey refers to an animal eaten by other
animals in an ecosystem.
Producers
• Producers are organisms that make their
own food.
• Primary Producer are species that make
organic molecules out of inorganic
molecules. For example, organisms that
use photosynthesis are producers.
• Examples would be plants.
Consumers
• Consumers eat other organisms. There
are two types called primary and
secondary consumers.
• Primary consumers eat species that are
producers.
• Secondary consumers eat the primary
consumers.
Herbivores
• Herbivores are primary consumers that eat
producers such as plants. Some
examples are rabbits and zebras. Write
down two other examples.
Carnivores
• Carnivores are consumers that only eat
other consumers. Examples are lions and
wolves.
Omnivores
• Omnivores eat producers and consumers.
A simpler way to think of this is that
omnivores eat meat and vegetarian
options.
Decomposers
• Decomposers consume dead organic
matter by causing decay. Examples are
fungi and bacteria