What is at the base of the food chain?
What is at the base of the food chain?
As you probably know, the organisms at the base of the food chain are photosynthetic; plants on land and phytoplankton (algae) in the oceans. These organisms are called the producers, and they get their energy directly from sunlight and inorganic nutrients.
What is food chain short answer?
A food chain describes how energy and nutrients move through an ecosystem. At the basic level there are plants that produce the energy, then it moves up to higher-level organisms like herbivores. After that when carnivores eat the herbivores, energy is transferred from one to the other.
Who or what is at the top of the food chain?
An apex predator, also known as an alpha predator or top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic levels.
What are the levels of a food chain?
Organisms in food chains are grouped into categories called trophic levels. Roughly speaking, these levels are divided into producers (first trophic level), consumers (second, third, and fourth trophic levels), and decomposers. Producers, also known as autotrophs, make their own food.
What are the 4 trophic levels?
Trophic Levels
| Trophic Level | Where It Gets Food |
|---|---|
| 1st Trophic Level: Producer | Makes its own food |
| 2nd Trophic Level: Primary Consumer | Consumes producers |
| 3rd Trophic Level: Secondary Consumer | Consumes primary consumers |
| 4th Trophic Level: Tertiary Consumer | Consumes secondary consumers |
What is the third trophic level in the food chain?
secondary consumers
The third trophic level contains organisms called secondary consumers. Instead of eating plants like primary consumers, the secondary consumers are often referred to as carnivores because they eat meat, and in this case, they eat the meat of the primary consumers in the level below them.