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What are trophic levels? Give an example of a food chain and state the different trophic levels in it
Answer
The various steps in a food chain at which the transfer of food/energy takes place are called trophic levels.
In a food chain, each step representing an organism forms a trophic level.
In the above food chain
Grasshopper eats grass, frog eats the grasshopper and snake eats the frog
Thus,
- Plants are the producers, and represents the first trophic level.
- Grasshoppers are the primary consumers, and represent the second trophic level.
- Frogs are the secondary consumers, and represent the third trophic level.
- Snakes are the tertiary consumers and represent the fourth trophic level.
