Question

1. Differentiate among primary, secondary and tertiary consumers. Give one example of each in a food chain.
2. Define the terms (a) flora and (b) fauna.
3. List any there members each of the flora and fauna of tropical rain forests.

Answer 1

1. The answer is as follows:

• PRIMARY CONSUMERS: These are herbivores and feed directly on producers i.e. green plants. Primary consumers vary with the type of an ecosystem. For example, in a forest ecosystem, deer or giraffe is a primary consumer whereas in a grassland ecosystem, cow or goat is a primary consumer.
• SECONDARY CONSUMERS: These are carnivores and feed on primary consumers and producers. For example, dogs, cats, birds etc.
• TERTIARY CONSUMERS: These are top carnivores that feed on primary and secondary consumers and producers. For example, lion, vulture etc.

2. The answer is as follows:

(a) Flora refers to the plants of an area.

(b) Fauna refers to the animals of an area.

3. The answer is as follows:

Examples of flora of tropical rain forest: Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), Giant red cedar tree, Banana tree.

Examples of fauna of tropical rain forest: Anaconda, Red eyed frog, Jaguar.