Globally, patterns of net primary productivity are linked to energy and water balances. Highest NPP in wet tropics, lowest values in deserts, tundras. In ecosystems, animals are always consumers. Defined by patterns of production and consumption of biomass. Food webs are linkages among different feeding, or trophic levels , in an ecosystem 1.
Green plants convert solar radiation to carbohydrates.
Green plants are the producers , the base of the food web. Animals that consume plant material are called herbivores . Animals that consume herbivores are called carnivores . Some carnivores eat other carnivores, so there may be several trophic levels in an ecosystem. Predators at the top of the food web are called top carnivores .