5.2.1 Trophic Levels

• Trophic levels represent the positions organisms occupy in a food chain or food web based on their energy source
• Match the trophic level with its description:

  Producers ↔️ Convert sunlight or chemicals into energy

  Primary Consumers ↔️ Herbivores that feed on producers

  Secondary Consumers ↔️ Carnivores that feed on primary consumers

  Tertiary Consumers ↔️ Carnivores at the top of the food chain
• Energy flows from producers up through trophic levels, with some energy lost as heat or waste
• Trophic levels are based on the energy source of organisms in a food chain or food web
• Primary consumers, such as rabbits, are herbivores that feed on producers
• Tertiary consumers, such as eagles, are often at the top of the food chain
• Order the trophic levels in a typical food chain from bottom to top:

  1️⃣ Producers

  2️⃣ Primary Consumers

  3️⃣ Secondary Consumers

  4️⃣ Tertiary Consumers
• Producers are autotrophs that use sunlight or chemicals to create energy through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
• Primary consumers are carnivores that feed on producers

  False
• Secondary consumers are carnivores that feed on primary consumers
• Match the trophic level with its example:

  Producers ↔️ Plants

  Primary Consumers ↔️ Rabbits

  Secondary Consumers ↔️ Snakes

  Tertiary Consumers ↔️ Eagles
• Energy flows through trophic levels in an ecosystem from producers to various levels of consumers
• Arrange the following trophic levels in the order of energy flow:

  1️⃣ Producers

  2️⃣ Primary Consumers

  3️⃣ Secondary Consumers

  4️⃣ Tertiary Consumers
• Secondary consumers feed on primary consumers
• Tertiary consumers are often at the top of the food chain
• Order the flow of energy in a simple food chain:

  1️⃣ Plants (Producers)

  2️⃣ Rabbits (Primary Consumers)

  3️⃣ Snakes (Secondary Consumers)

  4️⃣ Eagles (Tertiary Consumers)
• Energy is lost as heat or waste at each step of energy transfer in a food chain
• Producers are autotrophs that convert sunlight or chemicals into energy through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
• Secondary consumers are herbivores that feed on producers

  False
• Tertiary consumers are carnivores that feed on other carnivores
• Energy flows from producers through trophic levels, with some energy lost as heat
• Trophic levels represent the positions organisms occupy in a food chain based on their energy source
• Match the trophic level with its description:

  Producers ↔️ Autotrophs that convert sunlight into energy

  Primary Consumers ↔️ Herbivores that feed on producers

  Secondary Consumers ↔️ Carnivores that feed on primary consumers

  Tertiary Consumers ↔️ Carnivores that feed on secondary consumers
• Order the trophic levels in a simple food chain from lowest to highest:

  1️⃣ Producers

  2️⃣ Primary Consumers

  3️⃣ Secondary Consumers

  4️⃣ Tertiary Consumers
• In a simple food chain, energy is lost at each step as heat or waste
• Energy pyramids illustrate the flow of energy through different trophic levels in an ecosystem
• Approximately 90% of energy is lost between each trophic level
• What does net primary productivity (NPP) measure?

  Organic matter created by producers
• Energy transfer efficiency is the same across all trophic levels

  False
• One reason for energy loss between trophic levels is heat loss through respiration