A sparrow is a primary consumer when it eat seeds, but becomes secondary consumer when it eats __________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Insects
Option (4) Insects — Correct. Seeds are plant food, so a sparrow eating seeds is a primary consumer (a herbivore). Insects are animals, so a sparrow eating them feeds on a consumer and becomes a secondary consumer.
NCERT Extract:
Ecological Pyramids – “… Any calculations of energy content, biomass or numbers, has to include all organisms at that trophic level. No generalisations we make will be true if we take only a few individuals at any trophic level into account. Also a given organism may occupy more than one trophic level simultaneously. One must remember that the trophic level represents a functional level, not a species as such. A given species may occupy more than one trophic level in the same ecosystem at the same time; for example, a sparrow is a primary consumer when it eats seeds, fruits, peas, and a secondary consumer when it eats insects and worms.”