What is the name given to steps in a biological food chain?
In ecology, the trophic level is the position that an organism occupies in a food chain – what it eats, and what eats it. It is made up of: Producers Consumers Decomposers Producers (autotrophs) utilize energy from the sun and nutrients from the abiotic environment (carbon dioxide from the air or water, other nutrients from the soil or water) to perform photosynthesis and grow. Producers are generally green plants (those with chlorophyll). Consumers (heterotrophs) are organisms that feed on other organisms. They depend on producers for their energy and synthesis needs. For example, herbivores are primary consumers. A carnivore that eats only herbivores is a secondary consumer. A carnivore that eats other carnivores is a tertiary consumer. Decomposers and Detritivores utilize energy from wastes or dead organisms, and so complete the cycle by returning nutrients to the soil or water, and carbon dioxide to the air and water. See water cycle for more on water’s role.
