Consumer Levels
What we learned before…

Like we learned earlier in
the unit, not all consumers
are the same.

Some consumers eat plants,
some eat other animals, and
some eat both.


Herbivore

Carnivore

Omnivore
Because there are different
types of consumers, there
must be different consumer
levels.
What are Consumer Levels?

Consumer Level- the
separation of consumers
based on the food they eat
to more accurately position
them on food webs.

There are 3 consumer levels:

Primary Consumers

Secondary Consumer

Tertiary Consumers
Primary Consumer

Primary Consumer- are
usually herbivores, feeding
on plants and fungus.

They are usually the first
consumers listed on the food
web after producers.

Examples:

Insects

Squirrels

Sardines
Secondary Consumer

Secondary Consumer- mainly
carnivores that prey on the
primary consumers.

Some omnivores are also
secondary consumers if they
consume primary consumers
and are not at the top of their
food web.

These are normally listed after
the primary consumers on the
food web.

Examples:

Snake

Hyena

Robins
Tertiary Consumers

Tertiary Consumers- also
referred to as apex
predators, they are usually
at the top of the food web.

They feed on both primary
and secondary consumers.

They can be fully
carnivorous or omnivorous.

Examples:

Humans

Hawk

Lion
How Do I Figure Out What Consumer
Level a Particular Organism Is?

When you’re figuring out the consumer level, there are 2
question to ask that will help you figure it out:



Does my organism eat meat?

If it doesn’t eat meat, it’s a primary consumer.

If it eats meat, it has to be secondary or tertiary.
Can it be eaten?

If it eats meat AND gets eaten, then it’s a secondary
consumer.

If it eats meat but DOES NOT get eaten, then it’s a
tertiary consumer.
Make sure that when you’re thinking about these questions that
you do not think about humans (humans will hunt/eat anything)
or bizarre circumstances (like a shark getting eating by a
starving killer whale)
Let’s Review

Pick out an animal, I will show you a picture and we will decide
the consumer level of that animal as a class.