Question

When peacock eats snakes, which eats insects thriving on green plants, the peacock is
A. A primary consumer
B. A primary decomposer
C. Final decomposer
D. The apex of food pyramid

Answer 1

Hint: An ecosystem is a basic functional unit that has both biotic (producers, consumers, and decomposers) as well as abiotic components (inorganic matter). Biotic and abiotic components interact with each other.

Complete answer:
-Based on the source of nutrition, every organism has a definite place in the ecosystem. This place given to every organism is according to their feeding relationship with other organisms present in an ecosystem. The term ‘trophic level’ is used to describe the specific place that an organism holds in the ecosystem. Producers are the members of the first trophic level as they produce their own food and do not depend upon any other organism for feeding. Primary consumers (herbivores) occupy the second trophic level and secondary consumers (carnivores) occupy the third trophic level.
-In the given food chain, green plants are the producers as they prepare their own food with the help of sunlight. Insects are the primary consumers as they thrive upon these green plants to obtain energy. In a similar way, snakes are the secondary consumer as they feed on the insects, and the peacock is the tertiary consumer or secondary carnivore and would occupy the highest position (the apex) in the food pyramid.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: As we move from one trophic level to the next, the amount of energy decreases, and when an organism dies, it gets converted into detritus that is used as a source of energy for the decomposers. Thus, each organism is dependent on the lower trophic level to obtain energy.