Trophic Levels
This lesson covers:
- The idea that trophic levels are just the different levels of a food chain
- The names of each trophic level e.g. 'producers', 'primary consumers' etc.
- The difference between 'herbivores', 'carnivores', and 'omnivores'
- How detritivores break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients
What term is used for the stages in a food chain?
Trophic steps
Trophic levels
Feeding levels
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What is the name used to refer to the trophic level highlighted in the diagram above?
Producers
Primary consumer
Apex predator
Secondary consumer
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What is the name used to refer to the trophic level highlighted in the diagram above?
Producers
Secondary consumer
Apex predator
Primary consumer
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What is the name used to refer to the trophic level highlighted in the diagram above?
Producers
Secondary consumer
Primary consumer
Apex predator
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Which trophic level contains secondary consumers?
Trophic level 1
Trophic level 2
Trophic level 3
Trophic level 4
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What do the arrows in a food chain show?
The transfer of energy & biomass
Which organisms are dependent on which
How many organisms are at each trophic level
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What is an omnivore?
An organism which eats both plants and animals
An organism which eats only plants
An organism which eats only animals
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What is a herbivore?
An organism which eats both plants and animals
An organism which eats only animals
An organism which eats only plants
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What is a carnivore?
An organism which eats only plants
An organism which eats only animals
An organism which eats both plants and animals
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What must be true of a primary consumer?
It eats secondary consumers
It eats plants or algae
It eats meat and plants
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Why are food chains usually no longer than five or six trophic levels?
There are fewer prey than predators
The predators would have to be too large
Only ~10% of the energy and biomass is transferred between each level
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What is a decomposer?
An organism that produces biomass using photosynthesis
An organism that breaks down dead organisms
An animal that is fed on by other animals
An animal that feeds on other animals
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Which of the following are often decomposers?
(Select all that apply)
Plants
Animals
Fungi
Bacteria
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Small animals like worms and woodlice that help to break down organic matter into smaller pieces are known as:
Predators
Detritivores
Producers
Herbivores
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