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Definition

noun, plural: trophic levels

A position in a food chain or Ecological Pyramid occupied by a group of organisms with similar feeding mode.

Supplement

For example, the primary producers are photosynthetic plants occupying the first trophic level. A group of organisms feeding on them is called herbivores, which form the second trophic level. Organisms feeding on the herbivores, called carnivores, occupy the next trophic level.

Word origin: Greek trophē, food.

See also: Ecological Pyramid, food chain, food web.