trophic

¹ American  

[trof-ik, troh-fik] / ˈtrɒf ɪk, ˈtroʊ fɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to nutrition; concerned in nutritive processes.

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-trophic ² American  

1. a combining form with the meanings “having nutritional habits or requirements” of the kind specified by the initial element (autotrophic ), “affecting the activity of, maintaining” that specified (gonadotrophic ) (in this sense often interchangeable with-tropic ); also forming adjectives corresponding to nouns ending in -troph or -trophy (hypertrophic ).

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trophic British  

/ ˈtrɒfɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to nutrition

   the trophic levels of a food chain

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trophic Scientific  

/ trŏf′ĭk /

1. Relating to the feeding habits of different organisms in a food chain or web.

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Usage

What does -trophic mean? The combining form -trophic is used like a suffix for a variety of meanings, including "having nutritional habits or requirements." In other words, the sense of -trophic specifies how an organism gets its nutrition or how it feeds.The combining form -trophic is also used as an adjective form of nouns ending with -troph or -trophy. In some cases, -trophic means "affecting the activity of, maintaining." In this sense, it is often synonymous with -tropic.The combining form -trophic is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology and anatomy. It comes from the Greek trophikós, meaning “pertaining to food.”Corresponding forms of -trophic combined to the beginning of words are tropho- and troph-.Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -troph, -trophy, tropho-, and troph- articles.

Other Word Forms

• trophically adverb

Etymology

Origin of trophic¹

First recorded in 1870–75, trophic is from the Greek word trophikós pertaining to food. See tropho-, -ic

Origin of -trophic²

trophic

Example Sentences

"Ripple et al. argued that carnivore recovery produced one of the world's strongest trophic cascades," said Dr. Daniel MacNulty, lead author and wildlife ecologist at Utah State University.

From Science Daily

The discovery of predators operating at a seventh trophic level highlights just how rich and complex the Paja ecosystem once was.

From Science Daily

Investigations on phytoplankton are hereby most crucial, since changes at the basis of the food web can impact all higher trophic levels, all the way up to fisheries.

From Science Daily

The wolves’ return and predatory dominance was believed to have had a widespread effect known as a trophic cascade, by decreasing grazing and restoring and expanding forests, grasses and other wildlife.

From New York Times

"Dogs can contribute to the extinction of vertebrate species, can imbalance the trophic dynamics amongst predator guilds and even have the potential to collapse entire ecological communities," he continues.

From Science Daily