Trophic Levels

• Trophic levels are the different levels within a food chain, with the first level being a producer, such as a plant or an algae, which produce their own food using energy from the sunlight.
• The second level of the food chain is made up of primary consumers, also known as herbivores, who only eat plants and algae.
• The third level of the food chain is known as secondary consumers, also known as carnivores, who eat other animals.
• The fourth level of the food chain is known as tertiary consumers, also known as carnivores, who eat other animals.
• Different food chains in different ecosystems may have different numbers of trophic levels, but usually there are no more than four or five.
• Only about 10 percent of the energy that's in each trophic level actually gets passed on to the organisms in the next level.
• Organisms at the very top of the food chain, who don't have any predators, are known as apex predators.
• Omnivores, like bears, don't fit neatly into the trophic level pattern because they eat both producers and other animals, so they're placed in traffic level 3.
• Decomposers and detritivores are organisms like bacteria, fungi, and some small animals like worms, who help to decompose the dead plant and animal matter in the environment, recycling nutrients from animals and plants back into the ground which can then be used again by producers.