what are CONSUMERS and PRODUCERS in a FOOD CHAIN/WEB?!?!?! please answer! I NEED THIS FOR HOMEWORK!?

Question

SOoo....i hv to make a food web and so far ive got it but now i hv to write what are some consumers in my food web and what are the producers.
WHAT ARE CONSUMERS AND PRODUCERS?
Simplest explanation possible pleaaaaaase! THANKS SO MUCH! Just a simple easy definition. :)

Answer 1

Plants and green algae are the most common producers.



What does a producer do? It produces energy from some raw source. Near Earth's surface that almost always means sunlight. Anything green is probably a producer. They're drawn at the base of the food chain.



Consumers are things like you and I. We can't take energy from things like sunlight. Instead we have to eat producers and other consumers. Any animal is automatically a consumer, as are all fungi and most bacteria.



Producer: Grass.



Primary consumer: Wildebeest that eats grass.



Secondary consumer: Lion that eats wildebeest.



Apex predator: A Masai warrior that ritualistically eats lions.



The apex predator is the toughest most successful predator in an ecosystem. Nothing eats them but they eat almost everything else. In our absence the lions would become apex predators again, but for now we're at the top of pretty much every food chain on the planet.



There are also decomposers. A decomposer eats dead things. Fungi and soil bacteria eat dead grass, the parts of the wildebeest that the lion left, the lion's remains, and ultimately humans when we die and are buried. Without decomposers to return nutrients to the soil the whole food web would grind to a halt.

Answer 2

Decomposers (or saprotrophs) are heterotrophic organisms that obtain their energy from deceased organisms. They, themselves, are organisms (often fungi, Earthworms or bacteria) that break down organic materials to gain nutrients and energy. Decomposition is a natural process that will happen by default, but decomposers accelerate the process. The role that decomposers perform in an ecosystem is extremely important. Without them, organic matter would be piled up on our grounds from past years. In addition, some plants would not receive the required nutrients and might die. When an organism dies, it leaves behind nutrients that are locked tightly together. A scavenger may eat the carcass, but its feces still contains a considerable amount of unused energy and nutrients. Decomposers will later induce further breakdown. This last step releases raw nutrients (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium) in a form usable to plants, which quickly incorporate the chemicals into their own cells. This process greatly increases the nutrient-load of an ecosystem, in turn allowing for greater biodiversity. An example of decomposers is the numerous fungi on the right; they break down the dead tree converting its remaining stored energy to free energy. Although, Decomposers are generally located on the bottom of ecosystem diagrams such as food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids; the decomposers in the biosphere are crucial to the environment. By breaking down dead material, they provide some of the required nutrients that other organisms need to survive. Types of Decomposers Fungi Earthworms Plants are producers Animals are consumers

Answer 3

consumers simply eat living things (i.e. plants and animals).



consumers can have different levels: primary consumers eat only plants, secondary consumers eat animals that eat plants, and tertiary consumers which are usually at the top of a food chain.





producers are plants, which produce their own energy and food through the process of photosynthesis.

Answer 4

Producers mean the living creatures that are capable to produce/synthesize their own food. Producers are also called autotrophs, since "auto" means "self" and "trophic" means "to nourish".

Producers are classified into 2 groups:



1. Photoautotrophs ("photo" means light)

Photoautotrophs, are producers that synthesize their food with the help of the sunlight energy. This is what you called "the process of photosynthesis" Energy from sunlight is converted into organic materials (food). ex: plants



2. Chemoautotrophs ("Chemo" means chemicals)

Chemoautotrophs are producers that synthesize their food through the process of chemical reactions. ex: bacteria.





Now, consumers means the living creatures that are incapable to synthesize their own food, so they have to consume (to eat) other creatures. Consumers are also called heterotrophs.

Heterotrophs are classified into 2 groups:



1. Chemoheterotrophs

Chemoheterotrophs are consumers that consume other creatures through the process of chemical reactions. ex: herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, scavangers. Humans are also Chemoheterotrophs. We eat organic compounds like carbohydrates, protein, lipid and inside our bodies, lots of chemical reactions occur.



2. Photoheterotrophs

Photoheterotrophs are consumers that use the energy of sunlight to synthesize their food. It's similar with the process of photosynthesis.

The difference is the main ingredient. Photoautotrophs use Carbondioxide (CO2) whereas Photoheterotrophs use organic compounds...



Arrghh... I tried to make it as simple as possible, but I got too excited... Sorry for the "too long and boring" explanation.

Answer 5

Consumers are mostly animals that eat producers.

Producers are mostly plants that produce..