Question

In grazing food chain, carnivores are
A. Primary producers
B. Secondary producers
C. Primary consumers
D. Secondary consumers
E. Decomposers

Answer 1

Grazing food chain is a type of food chain in which energy at the lowest level is acquired by photosynthesis. Carnivores are flesh eating animals which are a crucial component of food chains.

Complete Answer:
Before looking into the options for the correct answer, let's have a look at the grazing food chain.
The grazing food chain starts with green plants as primary producers. Green plants create their own food by photosynthesis and later the energy moves from herbivores to carnivores. Sun is the chief source of energy in the grazing food chain.

Grazing food chains are normally divided into two. They are:
1. Predator chain: One animal is consumed by another. The consumer is a predator, while the one who gets consumed is the prey.
2. Parasitic chain: In parasitic chains, plants and animals are infected by parasites.

Examples for grazing food chain: Grass is eaten by rabbits and rabbits are eaten by foxes.
Phytoplanktons are eaten by zooplankton, zooplanktons are eaten by small fishes and small fishes are eaten by large fishes.

Let's have a look at the options to find the correct answer.
Option A: Carnivores are never primary producers. They obtain energy from sun and non living material sources. Algae, higher plants and some bacteria belong to primary producers. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Option B: A secondary producer is a herbivore, that eats plants and later becomes food to a predator. So, carnivores do not belong to this category. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Option C: Organisms that eat producers are primary consumers. They tend to be small in size and are mostly herbivores. Carnivores do not belong to this category. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Option D: Organisms that eat primary consumers are secondary consumers. Secondary consumers can either be carnivores or omnivores. Therefore, this is the correct option.

Option E: Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms. Fungi, worms and bacterias are some examples. Carnivores do not belong to this group. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Thus, the correct answer is D) Secondary consumers.

Note: In a grazing food chain, the number of trophic levels will be more than two levels. It always adds energy to the ecosystem. This type of food chain consists of every macroscopic organism.