Trophic Levels Flashcards
All 6 cards in this deck
What is a producer, and which trophic level is it?
An organism that makes its own food, e.g. plants and algae — trophic level 1.
What name is given to organisms at trophic level 2?
Primary consumers — herbivores that eat plants or algae.
What is a secondary consumer?
A carnivore that eats herbivores (primary consumers) — trophic level 3.
What is an apex predator?
A carnivore with no predators, at the top of a food chain.
True or false? A carnivore that eats other carnivores is called a tertiary consumer and is at trophic level 4.
True. Trophic levels are numbered by how far along the food chain the organism is, starting at level 1 with plants and algae.
What are the steps by which a decomposer breaks down dead plant and animal matter?
e.g. a bacterium on a dead leaf- Secretes enzymes out into the environment (onto the dead leaf).
- The enzymes digest the dead matter into small soluble food molecules.
- These molecules diffuse into the microorganism.