WHAT ARE QUATERNARY CONSUMERS? - BIOLOGY - 2024

The quaternary consumers or fourth order are occupying the fourth position in the food chain or trophic level, ie it is species or organisms that feed on tertiary consumers.

The food chain is a linear network that links producer and consumer organisms. Depending on their location in this chain, certain organisms can be exclusively producers (at the beginning of the chain) or exclusively consumers (at the end of the chain).

The organisms located in the center of the chain can be producers and consumers at the same time.

Producers in the food chain

Autotrophic or primary production organisms are organisms capable of self-sustaining by themselves, using processes such as photosynthesis or chemosynesis.

They are the base of the food chain since they do not depend on other organisms to sustain themselves. For example, plants, through photosynthesis, are capable of self-sustaining, in the same way that bacteria do through oxidation.

In both cases, organisms convert inorganic compounds into sustenance for their life. We know these species as primary producers.

The product of these species, called biomass, is consumed by species at the next level in the chain. In the case of plants, for example, they are consumed by herbivorous organisms.

For their part, higher in the chain are secondary producers, because their biomass is created from the consumption of primary organisms.

Herbivorous animals are a clear example of this, because they obtain their energy through the consumption of plants (primary producers).

Dual role bodies

The internal links in the food chain play two roles at the same time: they are producers and consumers.

For example, many species of fish fulfill a double role in the food chain because they are consumers of plankton (primary product) and at the same time second-level producers when eaten by other carnivorous species.

Any species that consumes producing organisms of a level lower than its own and is a product for consumption of species at a higher point in the chain, would be an organism with a double role, because it is a consumer and a producer at the same time, making them the internal links in the chain food.

High up on the chain

Organisms whose biomass is not prey to a natural predator move up the chain. The quaternary consumer is then defined as one that feeds on tertiary consumers.

If the primary consumers are animals that feed on plants and the secondary consumers are carnivores that feed on the primary ones, then the tertiary consumers are higher level carnivores that feed on the secondary consumers.

Consequently, quaternary consumers would be those at the last link in the chain and consume carnivorous animals.

Examples of Quaternary Consumers

Foxes could be considered quaternary consumers, because they devour carnivorous frogs that consume insects.

Some hunter birds are also quaternary consumers, devouring carnivorous snakes that consume rodents.

Humans can also be considered quaternary consumers. It is common for humans in certain areas to consume some species of shark, a fish that by definition is carnivorous.

References

1. Ecology - Trophic levels in ecosystems charritalerin.blogspot.com
2. Types of food chain sites.google.com
3. Wikipedia - Food Chain en.wikipedia.org
4. National Geographic - Food Chain www.nationalgeographic.org
5. Simply Oceans - Consumers in the food chain www.simplyoceans.com
6. Enchanted Learning - What's for dinner? www.enchantedlearning.com