Food Chain
The food chain is the sequence that shows the feeding relationships between the organisms in the different trophic levels of an ecosystem. It shows how these organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten. The trophic levels are the positions that different organisms occupy in the food chain. These levels are divided into the first, second, and third levels.
Producers form the first trophic level of the biotic community. These include plants and other autotrophs such as algae, bacteria, and phytoplankton.
These plants are eaten by consumers, the second trophic level made up of animals that eat the producers. Herbivores make up the primary consumers while carnivores, which eat herbivores, are considered secondary consumers. The latter consumers are eaten by higher-order animals called tertiary consumers.
When all these organisms die, decomposers, like bacteria, feed on their bodies and cause them to decay. This process releases substances that are used again by the green plants or producers. By returning these substances to the group, the decomposers complete the cycle of life.
