tritrophic

English

Etymology

From tri- (“three”) +‎ -trophic (“relating to feeding and nutrition”), from Ancient Greek τροφικός (trophikós, “nursing, tending”), from τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment, food”) +‎ -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /tɹʌɪˈtɹəʊ.fɪk/, /tɹʌɪˈtɹɒf.ɪk/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /tɹaɪˈtɹoʊ.fɪk/
• Rhymes: -əʊfɪk, -ɒfɪk

Adjective

tritrophic (not comparable)

1. (ecology) Describing a parasite that feeds on another parasite that feeds on a third parasite.
   • 2015 September 10, “Uncovering Cryptic Parasitoid Diversity in Horismenus (Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae)”, in PLOS ONE‎^[1], →DOI:

     The spatial overlap between bean species and bruchine hosts, together with the great morphological similarity among the Horismenus species, has made the study of the ecology and population genetics of this tritrophic system difficult.

Related terms

• bitrophic