Trophic Levels

 

Trophic Levels

It refers to the various levels in a food web as per the flow of energy. The different trophic levels are –

• Producers (T1)
• Primary consumers (herbivores-T2)
• Secondary consumers (primary carnivores -T2)
• Tertiary consumers(Sec carnivores -T3)
• Quaternary consumers (Ter. carnivores T4)
• Decomposers

Pyramid of Trophic Levels

• Is a graphical representation.
• Can be the pyramid of numbers, the pyramid of biomass or the pyramid of energy.
• Start with producers.

a) Pyramid of numbers: gives the number of organisms present at each trophic level.
It can be upright or inverted.
b) Pyramid of biomass: gives the biomass of each trophic level and could be upright or inverted.
c) Pyramid of energy: is always upright as it shows the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next trophic level.