Question

Siddartha found a vegetarian field mouse being swallowed by a snake which in turn formed the meal for a hawk. What is the position of snakes in the food chain?
(A)Producer
(B)Primary consumer
(C)Secondary consumer
(D)Tertiary consumer

Answer 1

Hint: The organism from which the food chain begins is the one which started to be a meal for someone and as the level increases, the category of consumer increases too in a specific order.

Complete answer:
In the vegetarian field, the grass is the primary producer that was eaten up by a mouse. Mouse here acts as a primary producer. A snake feeds on the mouse, due to which snakes come under the category of Secondary consumer.Snake which in turn forms the meal for a hawk, so the Hawk is Tertiary consumer.

Additional Information:
The food chain is a series of organisms i.e both plants and animals which are interrelated and one organism is eaten by the other in the form of food. Organisms that make their food known as producers.
-Primary consumer- Animals which feed directly on producers are known as a primary consumer.
-Secondary consumer- Animals that feed directly on primary consumers are known as the secondary consumer.
-Tertiary consumer- Animals that feed directly on secondary consumers are known as the tertiary consumer.
-Quaternary consumer- Animals that feed directly on the tertiary consumer are known as the quaternary consumer.
In a food chain of the grassland ecosystem, the top consumers are always carnivorous because they are not eaten up by any other organism.
 In the grassland ecosystem, snakes are further eaten up by Hawks, which in last are decomposed by fungi.
So, the correct answer is ‘Secondary consumer’.

Note: When any plant or animal dies, it is eaten up by detritivores like vultures, worms, and crabs and is broken down by decomposers which are mostly bacteria and fungi, and the exchange of energy continues.