Apex PredatorsДЄpex predators are organisms at the top of the food chain, and which do not have any natural predators. In turn, owls may be hunted by eagles and hawks, and are therefore not apex predators. Owls are an example of tertiary consumers although they feed off mice and other herbivores, they also eat secondary consumers such as stoats. Tertiary consumers acquire energy by eating other carnivores but may be preyed upon. In marine ecosystems, all species that consume zooplankton are secondary consumers this ranges from jellyfish to small fish such as sardines and larger crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters, as well as whales, which filter feed, and basking sharks. Secondary consumers are usually small animals, fish and birds such as frogs, weasels, and snakes, although larger apex predators, such as lions and eagles, may consume herbivores, and can also exist within the second trophic level of an ecosystem. This includes animals and carnivorous plants that feed on herbivorous insects ( insectivores). Secondary consumers, at trophic level three, are carnivores and omnivores, which obtain at least part of their nutrients from the tissue of herbivores. In marine ecosystems, primary consumers are zooplankton, tiny crustaceans which feed off photosynthesizing algae known as phytoplankton.

Many bats, birds and monkeys eat fruit ( frugivores) birds, insects, bats and arachnids (spiders) eat nectar ( nectarivores) and termites and beetles eat wood ( xylophages). Primary consumers may also consume other forms of plant material.

Herbivores are generally split into two categories: grazers, such as cows, sheep and rabbits, whose diets consist at least 90% of grass, and browsers, such as deer and goats, whose diets consist at least 90% of tree leaves or twigs. Primary consumers are herbivores, that is, animals that are adapted to consuming and digesting plants and algae (autotrophs). There are also some deep-sea primary producers that perform oxidization of chemical inorganic compounds instead of using photosynthesis these organisms are called вЂќchemoautotrophsвЂќ. In marine ecosystems, algae and seaweed fill the role of primary production. In terrestrial ecosystems, almost all of the primary production comes from vascular plants such as trees, ferns, and flowering plants. This glucose is then stored within the plant as energy, and oxygen, which is released into the atmosphere. In general, these are photosynthesizing organisms such as plants or algae, which convert energy from the sun, using carbon dioxide and water, into glucose. Primary producers, or вЂќautotrophsвЂќ, are organisms that produce biomass from inorganic compounds. Examples of Trophic Level Primary Producers However, disruption within one of the trophic levels, for example, the extinction of a predator, or the introduction of a new species, can have a drastic effect on either the lower or higher trophic levels. It is important to note that organisms within the trophic levels of natural ecosystems do not generally form a uniform chain, and that many animals can have multiple prey and multiple predators the non-linear interactions of trophic levels can therefore be best viewed as a food web rather than a food chain. Because of this gradual loss of energy, the biomass of each trophic level is often viewed as a pyramid, called a trophic pyramid. Only around 10% of energy consumed is converted into biomass, whereas the rest is lost as heat, as well as to movement and other biological functions. Although they do not fill an independent trophic level, decomposers and detritivores, such as fungi, bacteria, earthworms and flies, recycle waste material from all other trophic levels and are an important part of a functioning ecosystem.Дue to the way that energy is utilized as it is transferred between levels, the total biomass of organisms on each trophic level decreases from the bottom-up. Decomposers or detritivores are organisms which consume dead plant and animal material, converting it into energy and nutrients that plants can use for effective growth.

Cardinal chains level 57