How can omnivores be in more than one trophic level?

Question

I'm learning about the ecosystem and its relation to organisms, So organisms in a food chain can be put from producers to tertiary organisms. I just don't get the part where an organism can be labeled into 2 trophic levels ? how is it placed in the pyramid if so ?

Answer 1

Good afternoon, You are looking at/trying to understand two different things.

1. Trophic levels are easily understandable with looking at a food chain.
2. A food web is a bigger, more encompassing view of all organisms in an ecosystem

A food chain will follow only one set of organisms in an ecosystem.

grass --> rabbit --> snake --> hawk

producer, (primary consumer) herbivore, (secondary consumer) omnivore/carnivore, (tertiary consumer) exclusively carnivore.

when looking at a food chain, it doesn't leave much room for the organisms in between, like you mentioned with omnivores.

A food web is a better representation of organisms that can exist in more than one level because a food web shows a relationship between all organisms in the ecosystem.

grass, insects, rabbit, chicken, snake, hawk

take a chicken as an example. A chicken may eat grass/plants but also insects. It would be a primary consumer (because it eats the grass), but it will also be a secondary consumer (because it eats the insect that eats the grass. It can be both, which is why it can be in more than one trophic level.