Lake Titicaca Food Web
Freshwater
Peru and Bolivia — Andean Altiplano
Description
Lake Titicaca at 3,812 meters is the world's highest navigable lake and the largest lake in South America by volume. Despite its altitude, the lake supports unique endemic species including the critically endangered Titicaca water frog, which breathes through its loose, wrinkled skin. Totora reed beds provide habitat structure along the shoreline and have been used by indigenous Uru people for millennia.
Trophic Pyramid
Level 5
Decomposers
Cold-water bacteria
Benthic invertebrates
Freshwater fungi
3 species
Level 4
Tertiary Consumers
Andean condor (scavenger)
Peregrine falcon
2 species
Level 3
Secondary Consumers
Introduced rainbow trout
Titicaca grebe
Andean gull
3 species
Level 2
Primary Consumers
Titicaca water frog
Killifish
Amphipods
3 species
Level 1
Producers
Totora reed
Chara algae
Phytoplankton
3 species
Apex Predators
Tertiary Consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
Key Interactions
- Titicaca water frogs absorb oxygen through loose skin folds, adapted to high-altitude low oxygen
- Introduced trout have decimated native killifish populations through predation
- Totora reed beds provide nesting habitat for the flightless Titicaca grebe
- Pollution from mining and sewage threatens the lake's endemic species