Producers and Consumers Are the Living Components of Ecosystems

Our environment consisting of both living and non-living systems, influence each other
in form, function and property which is necessary to maintain life. The composition of the living
and the non-living systems are the building blocks of an ecosystem.

There are two living components of an ecosystems. Ecologists assign every organism in
an ecosystem to a feeding level, or trophic level, depending on its source of food or
nutrients. The organisms that transfer energy and nutrients from one trophic level to another in
an ecosystem can be broadly classified as producers and consumers.

Producers
 At the base level in all food chains are the producers. Producers are also called
autotrophs. Auto means self, while troph means food. They are organisms that create
their food from inorganic molecules such as water, CO2, nitrogen, and phosphate.
 Most producers get their energy from the sun, which they use to change the inorganic
molecules into complex carbohydrates like sugars and starches, which are used for food.
 There are many more producers in a food chain than consumers or decomposers because
only 10% of the energy from each energy level is passed on to the next energy level.
 On land, most producers are green plants, which capture about 1% of the solar energy
that falls on their leaves and convert it to chemical energy stored in organic molecules
such as carbohydrates.
 In freshwater and marine ecosystems, algae and aquatic plants are the major producers
near shorelines.
 In open water, the dominant producers are phytoplankton which are mostly microscopic
organisms that float or drift in the water.

 Producers, a major niche in all ecosystems, undergo photosynthesis to produce food.

All producers are autotrophic, or "self-feeding". 

 Autotrophs that don’t use photosynthesis to make their food use another process called
chemosynthesis. In this case, organisms take organic material from their environment and
transform it into organic nutrients, without the need for sunlight.

 Most of the  earth’s organisms get their energy indirectly from the sun. However,
chemosynthetic organisms in these dark and deep-sea habitats survive indirectly on
geothermal energy from the earth’s interior.
 A perfect example of this is that in the year 1977, scientists discovered a community of
bacteria living in the  extremely hot water around hydrothermal vents on the  deep ocean
floor. These bacteria serve as producers for their ecosystems without the use of sunlight
since they draw energy and produce carbohydrates from hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas
escaping through fissures in the ocean floor.
Producers : Organism which produces its own food by using energy from the sun.

Consumers
 All other organisms in an ecosystem are consumers, or heterotrophs (“other-feeders”),
that cannot produce the nutrients they need through photosynthesis or other processes and
must obtain their nutrients by feeding on other organisms (producers or other consumers)
or their remains. In other words, all consumers (including humans) are directly or
indirectly dependent on producers for their food or nutrients.
 Consumers constitute the upper trophic levels. Unlike producers, they cannot make their
own food.
 Consumer interactions and behaviors are characterized by the relationship between
predators and prey. 
  An apex predator is the top consumer in an ecosystem and is not preyed upon by
other predators.
 The position a consumer holds within the food chain can be manipulated by disease,
deforestation, the seasons, biodiversity, human encroachment into natural habitats, and
many other variables. 
Consumers : Organism which doesn’t make its own food but gets it from eating plants or other
animals.
There are four types of consumers. These are the following:

Herbivores
 As herbivores only ever eat producers, they are primary consumers in the second
trophic level of the food chain.

 Herbivores are unable to make their own energy and are known as consumers.

 They consume producers such as plants or algae. They are a necessary link between
producers and other consumers. Examples include deer, rabbits, and mice.

 Examples of primary consumers are zooplankton, butterflies, rabbits, giraffes, pandas

and elephants.

Carnivores 
 Secondary consumers are mostly carnivores, from the Latin words meaning “meat
eater.” 
 Consumers that eat only the flesh of other animals are carnivores. 
 Examples include lions, polar bears, hawks, frogs, salmon, and spiders.
 Carnivores that are unable to digest plants and must eat only animals are called
obligate carnivores. Other carnivores can digest plants but do not commonly eat them.
 Carnivores are typically characterized by being strong and fast and have sharp, pointy
front teeth called canines. 
  Most carnivores, called predators, hunt and kill other animals, but not
all carnivores are predators. Some, known as scavengers, feed on animals that are
already dead.
  Surprisingly, there are species of carnivores that are insects and plants. For example,
the Venus flytrap lures flies by secreting nectar onto the red-colored lobes and
trapping them between their mouth-like blades.
 There are three different categories of carnivores based on the level of meat consumption.
Hypercarnivores

 Carnivores that eat mostly meat are called hypercarnivores. They are obligate
carnivores because they are unable to digest plants and must eat only animals,
resulting in a diet that is at least 70% meat. Other carnivores can digest plants but do
not commonly eat them.
 The cat family, including lions, tigers, and small cats, for example, are obligate
carnivores, as are snakes, lizards and most amphibians.

Mesocarnivores
 Animals that depend on meat for at least 50 percent of their diet are called
mesocarnivores.
 Along with meat, these animals will also eat fruits, vegetables, and fungi.
 Mesocarnivores are typically small to mid-size species and often live close to human
populations.
 Raccoons, foxes, and coyotes are examples of mesocarnivores.

Hypocarnivores
 Animals that depend on meat for the least amount which is less than 30 percent of
their diet are called hypocarnivores.
  These animals, which can also be considered omnivores, eat fish, berries, nuts and
roots, as well as meat.
 Examples of living hypocarnivores are the black bear, binturong, kinkajou, and
humans.

Omnivores
 Animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter are
called omnivores 
 consume both plants and animals.
 Omnivores generally occupy the third trophic level alongside meat-eating carnivores.
 They include humans, pigs, brown bears, gulls, crows, and some species of fish.
 Due to their diverse diet, omnivores can adapt to environments better than species that
rely on a particular food source.
  An example of omnivores are humans, pigs, brown bears, gulls, crows, and
some species of fish.

Decomposers
 When organisms die, they leave behind energy and matter in their
remains. Decomposers break down the remains and other wastes and release simple
inorganic molecules back to the environment. Producers can then use the molecules to
make new organic compounds.
 The stability of decomposers is essential to every ecosystem since they resupply nutrients
to the ecosystem, in turn allowing for greater primary production.
 Although decomposers are generally located on the bottom of ecosystem diagrams such
as food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids, decomposers in the biosphere are
crucial to the environment.
 By breaking down dead material, they provide the nutrients that other organisms need to
survive and as decomposers feed on dead organisms, they leave behind nutrients which
becomes part of the soil that results to more plants growing and thriving.
 They perform a valuable service as Earth’s cleanup crew. Without decomposers, dead
leaves, dead insects, and dead animals would pile up everywhere.
 Most decomposers are microscopic organisms, including protozoa and bacteria.
Other decomposers are big enough to see without a microscope such as fungi and
earthworms.
Decomposer: Organism which digests or breaks down formerly living material.

Decomposers are classified by the type of organic matter they break down:

Scavengers
 Animals that consume the soft tissues of dead animals are called scavengers.
  Scavengers play an important role the food web since they keep an ecosystem free of
the bodies of dead animals, or carrion.
 Scavengers break down the bodies of dead animals and recycle it into
the ecosystem as nutrients.
 Examples of scavengers include vultures, raccoons, and blowflies.

Detritivores 
 Organisms that feed on dead and decomposing matter are called Detritivores.
 Detritivores are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus. 
 They eat dead leaves, animal feces, and other organic debris that collects on the soil or
at the bottom of a body of water. On land, detritivores include earthworms, millipedes,
and dung beetles. In water, detritivores include “bottom feeders” such as sea
cucumbers and catfish.
 Typical detritivores animals include millipedes, springtails, woodlice, dung flies,
slugs, sea stars, sea cucumbers, and fiddler crabs.

Saprotrophs
 Organism that feeds on nonliving organic matter known as detritus at a
microscopic level are called Saprotrophs.
 They are the final step in decomposition, and they feed on any remaining organic
matter that is left after other decomposers do their work.
 Saprotrophic organisms are considered critical to decomposition and nutrient
cycling.
 Saprotrophs include fungi, bacteria, and single-celled protozoa. Fungi are the only
organisms t-hat can decompose wood.

Interaction between Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

Producers, consumers, and decomposers interact constantly within an ecosystem through
making and consuming nutrients. Producers are organisms such as plants that make their own
food, glucose molecules, through photosynthesis. Glucose molecules contain energy obtained
from the sun, stored within their bonds. Consumers interact with producers by eating them as
well as other consumers in order to gain this energy. Decomposers break down dead and
decaying producers and consumers in order to absorb their nutrients and gain energy as well.
Through the process of decomposing other organisms, nutrients are also returned to the soil. In
this way, the sun's energy is constantly flowing through the producers, consumer and
decomposers within an ecosystem.