Aquatic ecology and Biodiversity

Unit 2- Ecosystem ecology

2.2.5. Trophic structure
The trophic structure is an arrangement of autotrophs and succeeding such of heterotrophs is called as trophic structure in which each successive consumer level is called a tropic level. It is also called as feeding levels

Trophic levels
• Autotrophs - producers synthesis their own food by themself
• Herbivores – consumers of only plants
• Carnivores- consumers of only animals
• Omnivores – consumers of both plants and animals
• Decomposers- Decomposers of dead and decaying matters
Each step of the food chain is called is called trophic level. Each food chain contains many trophic levels.
• Autotrophs - Trophic level 1
• Herbivores – Trophic level 2
• Carnivores- Trophic level 3
• Omnivores – Trophic level 4
• Decomposers Trophic level 5
 
The different feeding levels in the food chain are called trophic levels. Food chains comprised of many feeding or nourishing levels and each level is called trophic level. The first trophic level in the food chain is called primary producers, the second trophic level is the primary consumers (herbivores) and the third level is occupied by the primary carnivores. The number of trophic levels in a food chain is always restricted to 3 to 5. Lower the number of trophic levels, higher the transfer of energy to the top level organisms in the food chain. The energy transfer will be very less to the top predator, if the food chain is having more than three levels of trophic tiers.