Definitions for "Trophic Level"
A functional classification of taxa within a community that is based on feeding relationships (e.g., plants make up the first trophic level, herbivores make up the second).
feeding level. Link in food chain.
Each category of feeding, depending on the organism's mode of nutrition. From trophos (Greek for feeder).
Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002
refers to the amount of nutrients, such as phosphorus, found in a water body. (see oligotrophic, mesotrophic, and eutrophic)