<Li> Consumers (heterotrophs) are species that cannot manufacture their own food and need to consume other organisms . Animals that eat primary producers (like plants) are called herbivores . Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores, and animals that eat both plant and other animals are called omnivores . </Li> <Li> Decomposers (detritivores) break down dead plant and animal material and wastes and release it again as energy and nutrients into the ecosystem for recycling . Decomposers, such as bacteria and fungi (mushrooms), feed on waste and dead matter, converting it into inorganic chemicals that can be recycled as mineral nutrients for plants to use again . </Li> <P> Trophic levels can be represented by numbers, starting at level 1 with plants . Further trophic levels are numbered subsequently according to how far the organism is along the food chain . </P> <Ul> <Li> Level 1: Plants and algae make their own food and are called producers . </Li> <Li> Level 2: Herbivores eat plants and are called primary consumers . </Li> <Li> Level 3: Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers . </Li> <Li> Level 4: Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers . </Li> <Li> Level 5: Apex predators that have no predators are at the top of the food chain . </Li> </Ul>

What is the advantage of occupying more than one trophic level in a food web