Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Trophic interactions refer to the feeding relationships between different organisms in an ecosystem. It describes how energy and nutrients flow through a food chain or food web.
A trophic cascade occurs when changes at one trophic level in an ecosystem affect multiple levels below it. For example, if there is a decrease in predators, it can lead to an increase in prey populations.
Negative feedback loops are regulatory mechanisms that help maintain balance within ecosystems. They work by reducing or reversing any changes that occur. An example is when an increase in herbivore population leads to increased predation, which then decreases the herbivore population again.
Food Chain: A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms where each organism serves as a source of food for the next organism. It represents the transfer of energy and nutrients from one organism to another.