We consider the number of trophic levels in a food chain given by the equilibrium state for a simple mathematical model with ordinary differential equations which govern the temporal variation of the energy reserve in each trophic level. When a new trophic level invades over the top of the chain, the chain could lengthen by one trophic level. We can derive the condition that such lengthening could occur, and prove that the possibly longest chain is globally stable. In some specific cases,...