Explain how an ecosystem would be affected if the tertiary consumers population
was larger than the secondary consumers population

Producers, or autotrophs, make their own organic molecules. Consumers, or heterotrophs, get organic molecules by eating other organisms.

A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

In a food chain, each organism occupies a different trophic level, defined by how many energy transfers separate it from the basic input of the chain.

Food webs consist of many interconnected food chains and are more realistic representation of consumption relationships in ecosystems.

Energy transfer between trophic levels is inefficient—with a typical efficiency around 10%. This inefficiency limits the length of food chains.