Trophic Level Lab
Environmental Science Pd 4
Name _______________________
Date ______________________
Objective: Students will make an electronic trophic level chart by dragging and dropping the
names of organisms into a chart and answering questions about the trophic levels. This lab is
also non-computer friendly.
Procedure:
1) Drag and drop the trophic levels into the appropriate spots in the chart on the attached page.
In the box on the bottom of the chart, drop the word “Producers”. The second box from the
bottom should be labeled “Primary Consumer”, the third box from the bottom should be labeled
“Secondary Consumers” and the box at the top should be labeled “Tertiary Consumer”.
2) On this page is a list of organism names in different colors. Drag and drop the names into the
appropriate trophic level by using the key below.
KEY:
Green - producer Purple - primary consumer
tertiary consumer
KEY:
P- producer
consumer
1- primary consumer
Blue- secondary consumer
2- secondary consumer
Red-
3- tertiary
3) Answer the questions below when finished by clicking in the blank and typing the answer.
Producer
s
Primary Consumers
flowers
bacteria 2
bear
p
2
pecan tree p
moth 1
2
fungus
horses
robin
hawk 2
cows
humans
2
pig 1
2
worms
lettuce p
2
beaver
oak tree p
1
opossum 2
p
rabbits
maple tree p
squirrel
1
grass
p
fox
2
1
grasshopper 1
turtle 1
ferns p
2
1
p
frog 2
owl 2
chicken 2
mountain lion 2
chestnut tree p
eagle
deer
1
2
oats
1
Tertiary Consumers
walnut tree p
vultures 2
soy bean p
rat 2
blue jay
snake
insects 1
moss
1
Secondary Consumers
chipmunk 1
corn p
dogwood tree p
bob cat 2
bob cat
2
tobacco
p
sparrows 1
TROPHIC CHART
Name (**)
Name __________________________Date___________________
Questions:
1)Which of the trophic levels has the most number of organisms? ________ How many?
______________
2) Which of the trophic levels has the least number of organisms? ________
How many? ______________
3) a. What are two examples of a secondary consumer? ________________
b. What are two examples of a primary consumer? ____________________
c. What are three examples of a producer? __________________________
____________________________________________________________
4) What is the term for a model that shows the relationships
between organisms, including the energy and number of each trophic level?
____________________________________________________________
5) a. What does autotroph mean? _________________________________
b. At which trophic level are autotrophs found at? _____________________
6) a. What does heterotroph mean? _______________________________
b. Which trophic levels are heterotrophs found at? _______________________
7) a. Give an example of a primary herbivore. ________________________
b. Give an example of a secondary omnivore. ________________________
c. Give an example of a tertiary carnivore____________________________
d. Give an example of a tertiary decomposer. ________________________
8) What does the direction of an arrow in a food chain or food web indicate?
____________________________________________________________
9) Using the arrow feature of the drawing tools (Toolbar) draw a food chain showing the
transfer of energy between grass, a fox, a rabbit, a bob cat, and fungus.
BACKGROUNG TROPHIC LEVELS
Communities are groups of organisms (populations) that
maintain persistent associations with each other. The members of
a typical community include plants, animals, and other organisms
that are biologically interdependent through predation, parasitism,
and symbiosis. The structure of a biotic community is largely
characterized by the trophic (feeding) relationships among its
member species. These relationships are often represented
simplistically as a food chain. Each link in the food chain
represents a trophic level encompassing either producers or
consumers.
In most communities, green plants are the
dominant producers. They represent the first link in a typical
food chain. Plants capture kinetic energy from sunlight and,
through the process of photosynthesis, manufacture organic
molecules (e.g. simple sugars) from carbon dioxide and water.
The captured energy is "stored" in the chemical bonds of these
molecules. Some of the stored energy is used by plants for their
own survival and growth, some is lost as heat, and some passes
on to consumers when the plant is eaten, or to
decomposers when the plant dies.
Primary consumers occupy the second link of a food chain. These
animals, often called herbivores, survive by feeding exclusively
on plants or plant products. The third link includes primary
carnivores, secondary consumers that live as predators or
parasites of herbivores. Any remaining links in the food chain are
occupied by secondary or tertiary carnivores (predators or
parasites of other carnivores). Since energy becomes limiting at
the uppermost trophic levels, there are seldom more than four or
five links in a terrestrial food chain.
All insects are
consumers
They may be found in
all levels of a food
chain except the first
Food Webs
Very few animals have a diet that is restricted to only a single food
source, so the concept of a linear food chain is extremely
simplistic. In reality, trophic relationships within a community are
more like a food web in which dozens of plant species support a
wide variety of herbivores which in turn are consumed by
numerous predators and parasites. If one species within a food
chain becomes scarce (perhaps due to bad weather or overexploitation), there will be serious repercussions on all other
species in the chain. But in a complex food web, changes in
individual populations are likely to have a smaller impact because
they are buffered by the availability of an alternative prey or host
species.
Insect
Herbivores
Insect
Carnivores
Insect
Decomposers
Resources
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/library/tutorials/ecology/trophic_levels.html
Once completed please e-mail to:
Mkernicky@wiu.k12.pa.us