What Is It Called When Bigger Fish Eat Smaller Fish?

This concept is called a food chain.

It works like this:

  • Producers: Plants that make their own food through photosynthesis
  • Primary consumers: Herbivores that eat producers
  • Secondary consumers: Carnivores that eat herbivores
  • Tertiary consumers: Larger carnivores that may eat secondary consumers
  • Apex predators: Top predators with few or no natural enemies

A bigger fish eating a smaller fish is an example of this pattern, common in many ecosystems where larger predators consume smaller prey.