trophic
/ˈtrəʊfɪk
/ /ˈtrɒfɪk /adjective
1 Ecology Relating to feeding and nutrition.We also combined taxa into four functional groups based on known trophic positions and feeding preferences: primary producers, herbivores, bacterivores, or predators....
- The hypothesis that all sampled species form a homogeneous trophic group feeding, ‘on average,’ on the same food sources also was rejected.
- The direct effects of plant quality on omnivores is, therefore, likely to induce a trophic cascade whereby plant feeding by the omnivore ultimately benefits the plant.
2 (also tropic) Physiology (Of a hormone or its effect) stimulating the activity of another endocrine gland.The trophic hormones act to stimulate secretion of hormone from the target gland and to maintain its function and, if present in high concentrations, will cause the gland to enlarge....
- Furthermore, medical treatments for endometriosis act in a variety of ways to abolish the trophic effect of oestradiol on both the eutopic and ectopic endometrium.
- A highly conserved feature is that the cells of all glands respond to their respective, regulatory tropic hormone with an increase in cyclic nucleotide.
Origin
Late 19th century: from Greek trophikos, from trophē 'nourishment', from trephein 'nourish'.