Question

The place of the human being in food chains in an ecosystem is as
A. Producer
B. Consumer
C. Decomposer
D. Both A and B

Answer 1

Hint: Humans occupy an important position in the food chain.
They don't produce food for themselves. They consume the food produced by species lying lower in the food chain and convert them into energy in form of ATP by the process of respiration.

Complete answer: Consumers are animals of the ecological food chain who consume other organisms.
They are of three types: Primary, secondary and tertiary consumers.
Primary Consumers are those animals and insects which prey upon the producers; they prey on plants and fungus, organisms who receive their food and energy through the method of photosynthesis. They are also known as herbivores.
Secondary Consumers are the organisms that prey upon primary consumers (Carnivores and Omnivores). Lastly, Tertiary Consumers are those animals that eat secondary consumers, sometimes both secondary and primary consumers.
They consume energy from all other levels.
Humans are a classic example of a tertiary consumer.
Given below is a simple food chain:

So, the correct answer is option B. Consumer.



Note: It is important to note that sometimes tertiary consumers are also referred to as apex predators due to the fact that they occupy the highest-level present in the food chain. Humans are considered to be omnivores as they eat both plants and animals.