The role of a primary consumer in the food web is to transfer energy within an ecosystem through scouting and consuming of foods which are beneficial to them, and are subsequently consumed by other consumers i.e. secondary and tertiary consumers which are termed as carnivores and omnivores.
<h2>Further Explanation</h2>
The significant role of primary consumers in the food web helps keep balance of an ecosystem or a community from collapsing.
A typical primary consumer eats plants and grasses. Primary consumers are mostly herbivores. Primary consumers are located in the bottom level of animals in the food web.
The food web refers to the natural feeding relationship that exists in an ecosystem or a community. Food web comprises of food chains that are interconnected. Aside the primary consumers being in the food chain, secondary and tertiary consumers are also in the food chain.
It should be noted that without the important role of primary consumers, secondary and tertiary consumers would severely be short of much needed energy and nutrients, since they cannot produce their own food.
Therefore, primary consumers play a significant role through the transfer of energy as a result of consuming primary producers i.e. plants which make use of sunlight (solar energy) to provide their own food through the photosynthesis process.
And since plants are consumed by primary consumers, energy derived from the sun is transferred to them, and are tend to be transferred to whichever consumer that consumes the primary consumer.
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KEYWORDS:
- primary consumer
- food web
- carnivores
- omnivores
- tertiary consumers
- secondary consumers