Apex Predators

Discover apex predators and food webs! Learn about trophic levels and who eats whom.

Apex PredatorsBy Kathleen W. RedmanWhat did you have for breakfast today? Maybe you had a bowl of cereal or maybe you had a big breakfast with pancakes, sausage or bacon, and orange juice. What will you have for lunch? A burger? A slice of pizza? All of those foods have different ingredients. They're made up of wheat, sugar, maybe some vegetables, herbs, and meat. If all those foods sound like something you'd eat, congratulations! You're an omnivore.An omnivore is an animal or human that eats both meat and plants. Most humans are omnivores. As a human and an omnivore, you're also an apex predator. What makes you an apex predator?A food chain or food web shows what different plants and animals eat to get energy. Plants use sunlight. Some animals eat plants. Other animals eat the plant-eaters, and other animals eat the animals that eat the plant-eaters. Then there are people. People eat animals (big fish) that eat animals (medium-sized fish) that eat animals (small fish) that eat plants.All those plants and animals have a level (place) on the food web and name to go with it. The different levels in a food web are called trophic levels.Since many different animals occupy different places in the food web, it's helpful to put them into trophic levels. Plants and algae make their own food using energy from sunlight (without eating anything) and are called primary producers. Animals that eat the plants are called primary consumers.Animals that eat those animals are called secondary consumers, and animals that eat those animals are called tertiary consumers. At the very top are humans, apex predators. Apex is a word that means "top" or "the highest point." Humans are at the top of the food web, on the highest trophic level, but they are not the only animals on that level. Grizzly bears, crocodiles, big cats, and many others are also apex predators. They don't have any natural predators of their own.Humans don't have to be afraid every minute of something coming along and having them for dinner. In the food web, being an apex predator is a pretty comfortable place to be, isn't it?So, Apex Predator, be proud of your trophic level, and be happy that you won't become another predator's dinner! 1. Which of the following phrases is a good definition for apex? predatory animal highest point radiant energy 2. The reader can infer from reading paragraph 6 that humans_. have no natural predators can't be killed are the strongest members of the animal kingdom know what they are having for dinner 3. What are the different levels in a food web called? primary levels predator levels trophic levels consumer levels 4. Name three apex predators. 5. Humans are omnivores and apex predators. Humans are also_. consumers producers 6. Most plants are _. consumers producers 7. What do plants use to make food? vitamins meat sunlight other plants 8. What is a primary consumer?