Trophic Levels
Omnivores
Omnivores are animals that feed at various places within the food web and are therefore difficult to classify in terms of trophic level. For example, grizzly bears are highly opportunistic animals that feed quite widely, on sedges and berries, small mammals, fish, and dead animals (or carrion). Of course, humans are the most omnivorous of all species (we eat just about anything that is not acutely poisonous), and in turn are not eaten by many other creatures, except, eventually, by detritivores.
See also Autotroph; Carnivore; Food chain/web; Omnivore.
Resources
Books
Odum, E.P. Ecology and Our Endangered Life Support Systems. New York: Sinauer, 1993.
Ricklefs, R.E. Ecology. New York: W.H. Freeman and Co., 1990.
Bill Freedman
Additional topics
Science EncyclopediaScience & Philosophy: Toxicology - Toxicology In Practice to TwinsTrophic Levels - Primary Producers, Primary Consumers, Secondary And Higher-order Consumers, Omnivores - Detritivores