56.3: Trophic Level Interactions
- Page ID
- 74451
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Trophic interactions occur when one organism feeds on another. The three main types of trophic interactions are predation (figure 6.1.1.a6.1.1.�), herbivory, or parasitism. During these interactions, one species benefits by gaining food at the expense of the other, which either dies or loses nutrients, tissues, or organs (such as leaves). Trophic interactions involve the flow of energy, and the trophic interactions in a community can be represented by food chains and food webs.
- 56.3.1: Predation
- Predation occurs when one species kills and eats multiple prey over its lifetime. Predator and prey population size may cycle in response to each other. Predation leads to adaptations in both predator and prey species.
- 56.3.2: Herbivory
- Herbivory occurs when an animal feeds on parts of a stationary organism, usually a plant. This interaction exerts natural selection that has resulted in plant defense traits and herbivore traits that evade these defenses.
- 56.3.3: Parasitism
- Parasitism occurs when one species siphons nutrients from a host. A single parasite often remains with a host over its lifetime, and the parasite doesn't necessarily kill the host.
- 56.3.4: Food Chains and Food Webs
- Energy is the ability to do work. Some overlapping examples are kinetic energy, heat energy, potential energy, and chemical energy. Energy flows through a food chain from producers to top-level consumers. Food webs display trophic relationships more accurately because many species are generalists and are eaten by several different species. The number of trophic levels in a community is limited by inefficient energy transfer.