Explain The Five Trophic Levels

Ecosystem energies flow through many trophic levels. A trophic level is the level organism's occupy within the food chain. There are generally five trophic levels: primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and apex consumers. These five levels all interact with each other to ensure bio-viability. The first trophic level contains the primary producers. They are called the primary producers because they produce their own food and energy. Primary producers include plants and algae, organisms that produce their own food and energy through photosynthesis. They are at the base of the food chain. The second trophic level contains the primary consumers. They are called primary consumers because they are the first level of consumers, and they consist of herbivores, such as rabbits and deer, who eat the …show more content…
Generally, consumers convert about ten percent of the energy taken in from their meal into organic tissue. This is called the ten-percent law. Therefore every level is converting less and less energy into their organic tissue. The third trophic level contains the secondary consumers. They are called secondary consumers because they are the second level of consumers, and they consume the primary consumers, and absorb their energy. Examples of secondary consumers include foxes, owls and snakes. The fourth trophic level contains the tertiary consumers. They are called the tertiary consumers because they are the third level consumers, and they consumed the secondary consumers. Examples of tertiary consumers include hawks, sharks, and humans. The fifth trophic level contains apex predators. Apex predators are named as such because they are at the top of the food chain and have no predators. Examples of an apex predator include lions, crocodiles, and tigers. Decomposers sometimes occupy food chains as well, considering they are the end of the