KnowraTrophic ecologyTrophic ecologyTrophic ecology studies feeding relationships among organisms and how energy and matter move through ecosystems.BriefConnectFood web: A network showing who eats whom in an ecological community. Food webs map the interconnected feeding relationships trophic ecology investigates.Trophic chain: A linear sequence of organisms through which food energy passes. Chains isolate the feeding sequence that more complex webs connect.Trophic cascade: An ecological effect in which changes at one trophic level indirectly alter other levels. Cascades reveal how feeding interactions transmit effects across a food web.Bottom-up control: Regulation of ecosystem production by resource availability at lower trophic levels. It contrasts with top-down explanations that emphasize consumers’ effects on prey.Trophic level: A position in a food chain defined by how an organism obtains energy. Trophic levels organize organisms by their feeding roles and energy sources.Biomass pyramid: A diagram comparing the standing biomass at successive trophic levels. It shows how the amount of living material varies across feeding levels.Keystone species: A species whose ecological effects are disproportionately large relative to its abundance. Its removal can reorganize feeding relationships across an ecosystem.Top-down control: Regulation of lower trophic levels by consumers and predators at higher levels. It highlights predator effects rather than resource supply as the main driver.Primary production: The creation of organic matter from inorganic sources, chiefly by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Primary production supplies the energy entering most ecosystems’ food webs.Energy pyramid: A diagram comparing energy flow through successive trophic levels over time. It represents energy transfer in a way that cannot invert across levels.Show all 21Linked from 9 pagesGadidaeRelated: Gadids can be both predators of smaller animals and prey for larger fishes.Benthic feedingNarrower topic: Benthic feeding is one route by which energy moves through aquatic food webs.LancetfishRelated: Their broad diet helps researchers examine how energy moves through deep-sea food webs.Benthic ecologyNarrower topic: Food-web analysis explains how benthic species obtain and transfer energy.StupendemysRelated: Its jaws and habitat provide clues to the giant turtle's place in Miocene food webs.Dental microwear analysisNarrower topic: Dietary signals from teeth help place animals within ancient food webs.Nephrops norvegicusNarrower topic: Nephrops is both a predator of small animals and prey for larger predators.HypocarnivoreNarrower topic: Hypocarnivore diets place animals within food webs and resource pathways.Show all 9