Trophic Level

• A way of categorizing living organisms according to how they gain their energy

• The first trophic level would be producers and each higher level would contain heterotrophs

Primary consumer

• An organism that relies directly on producers or autotrophs for its source of energy

• They are found in the second trophic level

• Example: rabbit, deer, moose

Secondary consumer

• An organism that relies directly on primary consumers for its source of energy

• They are found in the third trophic level

Example: fox, pine marten, cat

Tertiary consumer

• Top of the food chain, is not eaten by any other organisms

• Example: human, polar bear

Decomposer

• An organism that feed on detrius, in the process releasing nutrients to the soil and water

• Example: vulture, fungi, bacteria

Food web

• A diagram showing the connections among everything that organisms in a location eat and are eaten by. A food web is more complex than a food chain, by showing more connections.

Food chain

• A step by step sequence linking organisms that feed on each other, starting with a food source such as a producer

Producer/autotroph

• An organism that uses energy and raw materials to make its own food, whether from photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Consumer/heterotroph

• An organism that must eat producers or other consumers to survive

Herbivore

• An animal that eats plants

Carnivore

• An animals that feeds on other animals

Omnivore

• An animal that eats both plants and animals