Consumer (food chain) facts for kids

A consumer in a food chain is a living thing that gets its energy by eating other living things. Think of it like this: if you eat a sandwich, you are a consumer! Consumers are also called heterotrophs.

On the other hand, producers are living things that make their own food. They are called autotrophs. Plants are a great example of producers because they use sunlight to make their food. Producers are super important for all ecosystems because they create the basic food that all other living things need.

Consumers can be grouped by what they usually eat:

• Herbivores eat only plants.
• Carnivores eat only meat (other animals).
• Omnivores eat both plants and animals.
• Decomposers break down dead plants and animals.

Even though we often think of consumers as animals that hunt, like lions, many other creatures are also consumers. For example, a caterpillar eating a leaf is a consumer. Some amazing plants, like the Venus flytrap, can even be both a producer (making its own food) and a consumer (eating insects)!

What are the Levels of Consumers in a Food Chain?

In an ecological food chain, consumers are placed into different levels based on what they eat.

Primary Consumers: The Plant Eaters

Primary consumers are herbivores. This means they eat only plants or algae. They are the first level of consumers in a food chain.

• Examples: Caterpillars, grasshoppers, termites, and hummingbirds are all primary consumers because they eat only producers (plants).
• Some primary consumers are specialists, meaning they eat only one type of plant. A koala is a specialist because it eats only eucalyptus leaves.
• Others are generalists and can eat many different kinds of plants.

Secondary Consumers: The First Meat Eaters

Secondary consumers are usually carnivores. They eat primary consumers (the plant-eaters).

• Examples: A frog that eats a grasshopper is a secondary consumer.
• Omnivores, which eat both plants and animals, can sometimes be primary consumers (when they eat plants) and secondary consumers (when they eat animals).

Tertiary Consumers: Top of the Food Chain

Tertiary consumers are often called apex predators. They are usually at the very top of food chains.

• They eat both secondary consumers and primary consumers.
• Tertiary consumers are often the largest, strongest, and most powerful animals in their area.
• Both secondary and tertiary consumers have to hunt for their food, so they are often called predators.
• Humans are an example of a tertiary consumer because we eat both plants and animals that eat other animals.

Why are Consumers Important to Ecosystems?

In an ecosystem, energy moves from one living thing to another when food is eaten. This flow of energy is super important for the health and balance of the whole ecosystem.

Consumers help keep the food chain balanced. For example, they help control the number of plants in an area. If there were too many plants, they might use up all the resources. If there were too few consumers, certain animal populations might grow too large.

Without the right balance, an ecosystem can become unhealthy and even collapse. This can cause many different species to decline, which can harm the environment, including air quality and water.

See also

In Spanish: Consumidor (biología) para niños

• Food web
• Primary producers
• Trophic level