Quaternary consumers: What are and examples

Are the species found in The highest in the food chainalso called superpredatory or super -predators speciesand are not stalked by other predators other than these same species.

They are heterotrophic species, specifically omnivorous, that is, they feed on both plants and animals to obtain organic, and carnivorous matter, that is, they feed only on meat. They are the less abundant group of species in the trophic pyramid and is also the least time ago to study ecosystems and, therefore, there are species that according to the situation of the ecosystem are classified as tertiary consumers or, as quaternary consumers.

Here we show some Examples of quaternary consumers both aquatic and terrestrial or air-terrestrials:

Examples of curator catenario

• Sharks: If we asked ourselves what type of consumer is the shark, we might think that it belongs to the tertiary consumer, but it would be better located within quaternary consumers since these can be fed even from other sharks, among other organisms of which the fish, molluscs, plankton, molluscs and crustaceans can be fed. There are some shark species such as the hammer, Mako and Toro shark that practically consume any type of life, without distinction.
• Crocodiles: It is located as a quaternary consumer since when they are young, their diet is especially based on animals of less size such as crabs, small amphibians, insects and small fish. However, when crocodiles grow feed on other reptiles, birds, and even large -scale mammals that approach the shore to drink.
• ORCAS: Also called murderous whales, they are not not whales, but it is the largest dolphins and are totally carnivorous. Due to their type of food, size and great hunting capacity with elaborate strategies they are considered quaternary consumers, only others of this level attack them to eat them.

Examples of land quaternary consumers

• Eagles: They are hunting birds that hunt animals such as rabbits, snakes, other birds, small rodents, among others. In addition, add that they can be scavengers in the event that there is a shortage of animals to hunt.
• Polar bears: They are carnivores that need large food intakes in their day to days, it is estimated that a polar bear needs 30 kilos of food per day. They are large predators who feed mainly on reindeer and seals, although due to food shortages they can become each other. Canibalism among polar bears is something that used to occur exceptionally, but due to the effects of climate change these cases are increasingly frequent.
• Human being: People are also consumers at the top of the trophic pyramid, since we are omnivorous animals that we feed on a variety of species and do not have direct predators, mainly others of the same level, and we are consumers that we consume much more energy than we contribute to the food chain, so we place ourselves in tertiary or quaternary consumers.

Nature seeks its own balance and naturally establishes its own order. In natural systems The number of quaternary consumers is lower because they are the ones More energy consumebut those who Less energy produce. In the trophic chain there is an energy flow, which is passing from one trophic level to another, in this change of level, there is a loss of energy, which is why there are a greater number of producers, being greater than that of primary consumers, but there are also more primary consumers than secondary, more secondary than tertiary and more tertiary than quaternary.

In addition, taking into account that Quaternary consumers are great predators With a very wide diet, they practically feed on any herbivorous, omnivorous or carnivorous consumer. If there were a lot of this type of consumer, the rest of the consumers would be seriously threatened and the number of the rest of the species would be reduced, destabilizing the entire trophic chain.

We recommend knowing more information related to these other articles about the ecosystem in equilibrium: what is and how it is maintained and about the ecological imbalance: what is, causes, consequences and examples.

In addition to quaternary consumers, within the food chain we find others Types of consumers:

• Primary consumers: The species that form the first group of consumers are herbivorous species. They are heterotrophic animals that require organic matter to feed, this organic matter obtained from plant species, plants inside the trophic chain form the link of producers. Some examples are herbivorous birds, rodents or small amphibians. In this other post you will see more information about what primary consumers and examples are.
• Secondary consumers: In this group there are both omnivorous and carnivorous species, being all heterotrophies, that is, they obtain organic matter for their food. To obtain it they do it by feeding on species that belong to primary consumers, thus controlling the volume of their population. Some examples are cats, pumas and owls, I enter others. In this other article you can see more about what secondary consumers and examples are.
• Tertiary consumers: This group consists of carnivorous species, they are heterotrophic animals that to obtain their energy need to consume organic matter. Organic matter obtained from secondary and some primary consumers, thus controlling this population and indirectly the remaining trophic levels. Some examples of tertiary animals are fox, black panther, seal and marine lions, among others. Here you can better know what tertiary consumers and examples are.
• Quaternary consumers: As we have mentioned above, they are the animal species that are at the upper level of consumers, above all of the food pyramid, and can be feed on all consumers. Some examples of this type of consumer are the human being and the shark.

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