Answer:
1st trophic level
Explanation:
Trophic levels are each of the sets of organisms in an ecosystem that obtain matter and energy in the same way, so they occupy an equivalent place in the food chain.
The energy that living beings need to perform vital functions (nutrition, relationship and reproduction) comes from the Sun. Plants are responsible, through photosynthesis, for transforming inorganic matter into organic. This matter and energy will pass to the rest of the organisms in the ecosystem, such as herbivorous and carnivorous animals. Finally, the decomposing organisms will be responsible for breaking down this organic matter into inorganic, closing the cycle so that it can be restarted.
Therefore, we can distinguish three trophic levels:
- Producing organizations (autotrophs) or 1st trophic level
- Consumer organisms (herbivores, carnivores, scavengers).
- Decomposing and transforming organisms (break down organic matter into inorganic).
Producing organisms are autotrophs (plants, algae and some bacteria). They are capable of manufacturing their own organic matter from inorganic matter (water, mineral salts and carbon dioxide) and the energy of the sun, which is why they are called producers.
Producing organisms constitute the lowest trophic level, being the basis on which the higher levels are based. They are the only ones that, through photosynthesis, are capable of capturing solar energy and transforming it into chemical energy. They are also the ones that generate the greatest amount of dead organic matter in the ecosystem.
