A

David

Darling

secondary consumer

In a food chain, a secondary consumer is an organism that feeds on the primary consumers. The primary consumers, which themselves feed on green plants (primary producers), are predominantly herbivores. Secondary consumers are, therefore, mainly carnivores that feed on the herbivores. If a secondary consumer has no predators (that is, there are no tertiary consumers), it is known as the top carnivore. See also ecosystem.