BRAINCAKETrophic Levels
A trophic level is the position an organism occupies in a food chain, that is, its feeding level.
• Trophic level 1: producers
• Trophic level 2: primary consumers
• Trophic level 3: secondary consumers
• Trophic level 4: tertiary consumers
For example, in: phytoplankton → zooplankton → small fish → seal → killer whale, the seal is at trophic level 4 and the killer whale at trophic level 5.
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Key terms in this lesson
- biomass
- The mass of living material in an organism or trophic level, representing the chemical energy stored in its organic compounds.
More in Ecosystems
- Ecosystems
- Biotic Factors
- Abiotic Factors
- Producers and Consumers
- Biomass Transfer
- Ecological Efficiency
- Calculating Efficiency of Biomass Transfer
- Human Activities and Biomass Transfer
All 21 lessons in Ecosystems · All OCR A-level Biology topics