Trophic Levels (T)

• What are trophic levels?

  Trophic levels are positions in a food chain that indicate the feeding relationships among organisms.
• What is the role of producers in a food chain?

  • Make their own food by photosynthesis
  • Serve as the starting point for food chains
• What are herbivores classified as in a food chain?

  Herbivores are classified as primary consumers.
• What do we call carnivores that eat herbivores?

  Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers.
• What is a tertiary consumer?

  A tertiary consumer is a carnivore that eats other carnivores.
• What does the term 'apex predator' refer to?

  • Apex predators are carnivores with no predators.
  • They are at the top of the food chain.
• What is the function of decomposers in an ecosystem?

  Decomposers break down dead plants and animals as well as waste products.
• How do decomposers return mineral ions to the soil?

  They break down dead remains and waste products, returning mineral ions back to the soil.
• What process do decomposers use to break down materials?

  • Decomposers secrete enzymes into the environment.
  • Enzymes digest dead materials.
  • Small soluble food molecules diffuse back into the decomposer.