Trophic Level – 10+ Examples, Format, How to Categorize, PDF

Team Biology at Examples.com
Created by: Team Biology at Examples.com, Last Updated: September 19, 2024

Trophic Level – 10+ Examples, Format, How to Categorize, PDF

The lion is one of the apex predators in the savannah food web or food chain, often hunting other animals smaller than the lion in the act of predation in the biosphere. When the lion dies, the scavengers decompose the body and return it to the soil for the primary producer to prosper. This is an illustration of the trophic level of the savannah.

1. Trophic Levels and Food Chain

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2. Trophic Levels Template

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3. Trophic Levels and Trophic Interactions

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4. Trophic Level Index

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5. Trophic Levels of Ecosystem

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6. Trophic Levels Organization

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7. Trophic Levels Ecosystems Worksheet

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8. Trophic Level Troubles

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9. Energy Flow and Trophic Level in Ecosystem

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10. Review Lake Trophic Level Index

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11. Trophic Level Example

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What Are Trophic Levels

Trophic levels are a structure that researchers use to organism all the organisms in a single area or biome based on the predator and prey relationship with the other organisms in the area. The structure of the trophic level will often be in the shape or form of a pyramid as the higher the trophic level the lower the number of organisms in said level.

How to Categorize Organisms Based on Trophic Level

The trophic level of an organism will easily allow the researcher or scientist to comprehensively know the relationship between the organism and the other organisms in the habitat or biome. If you want to learn more about trophic levels and their structure, you can read any of the articles above. (Good reads include Trophic Level Index, Review Lake Trophic Level Index, and Trophic Level Troubles)

1.) Pick a Specific Habitat or Biome

Begin by picking a specific habitat or biome you would like to categorize all the organisms. This will dictate the number of organisms you will have to organize based on their trophic level. This will provide a structure that will provide you with the necessary context and theme you can use in the whole illustration.

2.) Research All the Organisms In the Chosen Habitat or Biome

When you have finished choosing the habitat or biome, you will now research all the organisms in the given area. This should include the various plant life, bacteria, insects, viruses, and animals living in the habitat or biome.

3.) Research and List Out the Organism’s Food Production and Food Source

After the previous step, you must select an organism and research its food production and source. This will help you easily assign the organism to its appropriate trophic level.

4.) Based on the Food Source, Place the Organism on the Associated Trophic Level

Based on the food source of the organism, one can easily assign the organism to the correct trophic level. If the organism produces its food via sunlight, then it should be at the primary producer’s level. But if the producer has a predator, then it should be categorized accordingly in the consumers part of the trophic level.

5.) Repeat Steps 3 and 4, Until You Have Finished Categorizing All the Organisms in Their Appropriate Trophic Level

After finishing steps 3 and 4, you must now repeat said steps until you have finished categorizing all the organisms to their appropriate trophic level. You can also arrange the organisms in a pyramid-like structure.

FAQs

What are the functions of the trophic level?

The five trophic levels function as categories of specific organisms that the researcher or scientist will place and add to the food chain or food web. The first and the lowest level in the trophic level is called the primary producers. These organisms often manifest as the plant life in a given biome, as they absorb nutrients from the ground and chemical energy from the sun. The second level above the primary producers is the primary consumers. The final level called the apex predator is the organism at the top of the food chain or food web that has no consumers above them in a given ecosystem. These organisms will only be reintroduced to the energy cycle through the decomposition reaction of their dead bodies via the decomposers.

What is a trophic structure?

The trophic structure is a pyramid-like structure that organizes the organisms in different trophic levels and biomass based on their various relationships like predator-prey, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism. This also indicates the relationship the various organisms will have with the other organisms below their trophic level. An example of this relationship is the presence of a secondary consumer benefiting the primary producers as it reduces the total amount of organisms preying on them.

What is the 10% rule?

The 10% rule is a rule that governs how much potential energy is being transferred and absorbed via consumption and chemical reactions in the body. This rule states that the energy transferred between trophic levels is only capped at 10%. Primary producers produce 100% potential energy, which is reduced to 10% when the primary consumers eat the primary producer for energy. This is true between the primary, secondary, tertiary consumers, and the apex predator reaching 0.01% Energy gained by the apex predator.

The trophic level is a position an organism occupies inside a specific food web or food chain in a given ecosystem, biosphere, or biome. Being able to classify and categorize organisms on their correct trophic levels will easily allow you to create a comprehensive food chain and food web.

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Practice Test

What is the primary role of producers in a trophic level?

To consume other organisms

To decompose organic matter

To convert sunlight into chemical energy

To act as secondary consumers

of 10

 In a food chain, which trophic level is typically represented by herbivores?

 First trophic level

Second trophic level

Third trophic level

Fourth trophic level

of 10

Which of the following organisms is most likely to be at the top of a food chain?

 Producer

Herbivore

 Carnivore

Apex predator

of 10

 How does energy decrease as it moves up trophic levels in a food chain?

It increases by a factor of ten

It remains constant

It decreases by a factor of ten

It doubles

of 10

What type of organisms are decomposers in an ecosystem?

Primary producers

Primary consumers

Secondary consumers

Organisms that break down dead matter

of 10

 In a food web, what role do secondary consumers play?

They consume producers

They consume primary consumers

They are decomposers

They are producers

of 10

Which trophic level would a scavenger, such as a vulture, belong to?

Primary producer

Primary consumer

Secondary consumer

Decomposer

of 10

 What happens to the number of organisms as you move up the trophic levels in an ecosystem?

 It increases

 It stays the same

 It decreases

It fluctuates

of 10

 Why are there generally fewer top predators in an ecosystem compared to primary producers?

Top predators are more efficient at energy conversion

Top predators have more offspring

Energy loss between trophic levels limits their numbers

Top predators consume more energy

of 10

 What is the role of primary consumers in a trophic level?

To produce energy

 To decompose organic matter

To consume producers and convert their energy

To consume other consumers

of 10

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