Unit 8.2 - Responses to the Environment

A trophic level is an organism’s position in a food chain, which shows how energy flows from one organism to the next.

For example:

Producer (plant) → Primary Consumer (herbivore) → Secondary Consumer (carnivore) → Tertiary Consumer → Decomposer

Food webs are made of many connected food chains.

Energy transfer is inefficient — usually only ~10% of energy moves up to the next level.

That’s why top predators (like hawks or lions) are fewer in number than plants or herbivores.