A trophic level is a position in a food chain that indicates how energy and nutrients flow through an ecosystem. Organisms are categorized into different levels based on their feeding relationships. The primary trophic levels include producers, such as plants, which create energy through photosynthesis, and consumers, which eat other organisms for energy. Each trophic level plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance. For example, herbivores occupy the second level by consuming producers, while carnivores occupy higher levels by eating herbivores or other carnivores. Understanding trophic levels helps scientists study ecosystem dynamics and energy transfer.