Functional aspect of ecosystems
Functional aspect of ecosystems: 1. Trophic level: The arrangements of producers and consumers in an ecosystem is called trophic structure where each level is called trophic level. - The first trophic level is made up of green plants which directly derive their energy from the sun - The energy from plants is passed into herbivores (primary consumers) thus they constitute second trophic level - The herbivores i.e. the primary consumers are passed their energy into primary carnivores thus secondary consumer or primary carnivores constitute the third trophic level - The tertiary consumer derive their energy from secondary consumers thu constitute the fourth trophic level - The decomposer forms the last trophic level - Some organisms derive their energy from more than one trophic level e.g. omnivorous mammals feed upon both producers as well as consumers e.g. human 2. Food chain The transfer of food energy from the producers through a series of organisms with repeated proc...