Question

What are consumers? How are they categorized?

Answer 1

There are various biotic components of the ecosystem. As the name suggests the consumers are those organisms that consume the pre-synthesized food. In addition, they are divided based on the positions they occupy on the food chain.

Step by step answer: Consumers are organisms that cannot synthesize their own food. The word consumer used to denote an organism that consumes the food. They are also known as heterotrophic organisms. These animals are directly or indirectly dependent on producers for food. Hence, their survival is wholly dependent on producers.
They are classified into the following categories –
1. Primary consumers – These are first-order consumers. They are the organisms that eat plants. Thus, they directly feed on the producers. They are also known as herbivores. They are the key animals, as they convert the plant matter into the animal form. Examples – Grasshopper, Deer, Cow, Tadpoles, etc.
2. Secondary consumers – These are second-order consumers. They are also known as the primary carnivores. They are the organisms that eat herbivores. Thus, they indirectly feed on the producers. Examples – Frogs, Spiders, Lizards, etc.
3. Tertiary consumers – These are the third-order consumers. They are also known as secondary carnivores. They are organisms that eat secondary consumers. Thus, they indirectly feed on the producers. Examples – Snakes, Fishes, etc.
4. Top carnivores – They are the organisms that are not eaten by any other carnivores. Thus, they acquire the top position in the food chain. All the food chains terminate at the top carnivores. Examples – Lion, Tiger, Peacock, Falcon, etc.

Note: There can be quaternary or fourth-order consumers also that prey upon the secondary carnivores. However, above this is not possible because a food chain has only three or four organisms in a chain. Hence, defining so many levels in it is not possible and the occurrence of some of the intermediate organisms in all the food chains is not necessary.