Food Chains & Trophic Levels

What is a food chain?

A diagram showing feeding relationships and the transfer of biomass between organisms.

What is a producer?

An organism that produces its own organic molecules, usually by photosynthesis.

What is a consumer?

An organism that obtains energy and biomass by feeding on other organisms.

What is a primary consumer?

An organism that feeds on producers.

What is a secondary consumer?

An organism that feeds on primary consumers.

What is a tertiary consumer?

An organism that feeds on secondary consumers.

What is a herbivore?

An animal that feeds on plants or other producers.

What is a carnivore?

An animal that feeds on other animals.

What is an omnivore?

An animal that feeds on both plant and animal material.

What is a predator?

An organism that hunts and consumes other organisms.

What is prey?

An organism that is hunted and consumed by a predator.

What does an arrow in a food chain represent?

The direction of biomass transfer from the organism being eaten to the consumer.

Which trophic level contains producers?

Trophic level 1.

Which trophic level contains primary consumers?

Trophic level 2.

Which trophic level contains secondary consumers?

Trophic level 3.

Which trophic level contains tertiary consumers?

Trophic level 4.

Why do most food chains begin with a producer?

Producers convert light energy into chemical energy stored in biomass.

What is a food web?

A network of interconnected food chains.

Why are food webs more realistic than single food chains?

Most organisms feed on or are eaten by more than one species.

What happens if a producer population decreases?

Primary consumers may have less food, affecting higher trophic levels.

Why can the removal of a predator affect several populations?

It changes predation pressure and feeding relationships throughout the food web.

Why are decomposers important in food webs?

They break down dead material and waste, recycling nutrients.