Trophic levelsSpec 19.2.13, 19.2.14
In short
A trophic level is the position of an organism in a food chain, food web or ecological pyramid. Producers are trophic level 1, primary consumers level 2, secondary consumers level 3, tertiary consumers level 4 and quaternary consumers level 5. An organism in a food web can be at more than one trophic level, depending on what it eats.
- Trophic level
- The position of an organism in a food chain, food web or ecological pyramid.
Trophic levels are numbered from the producer at the start of the chain. The same names are used in food webs, food chains and ecological pyramids.
| Trophic level | Name | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Producers | Grass |
| 2 | Primary consumers | Grasshopper |
| 3 | Secondary consumers | Frog |
| 4 | Tertiary consumers | Snake |
| 5 | Quaternary consumers | Eagle |
An organism in a food web may be at more than one trophic level. For example, an animal that eats both plants and herbivores is a primary consumer in one food chain and a secondary consumer in another. Decomposers feed on the dead remains from every trophic level.
(opens full size in a new tab)Producers are trophic level 1, so the primary consumer is level 2 and the secondary consumer is level 3. Do not count from the first animal.
Written and checked against the Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) specification · Updated October 2026