Question

Secondary productivity is the rate of formation of new organic matter by
 (a) Decomposers
 (b) Producers
 (c) Parasites
 (d) Consumers

Answer 1

Hint: The production of new organic matter after the primary production is secondary production. It is done by the organisms of the second trophic level that includes those that eat plants and sometimes other small organisms.

Complete step by step answer:
The rate of formation of new organic matter with the help of the consumers is called secondary productivity. Consumers belong to the second and third trophic levels depending upon their food habits.
- The rate at which energy is released and added to the bodies of various groups of organisms is called Productivity, this includes primary producers that are in the form of biomass. It is also termed as ecological productivity.
- Gross productivity can be defined as the overall rate of energy capture.
- Productivity in ecology is the rate at which energy is added to the bodies of organisms in the form of biomass. It can be defined for any trophic level or another group, and it may take units of either energy or biomass.

- The primary productivity is the production and formation of biomass through the producers that are autotrophs.
- The secondary productivity is the production and formation of biomass through the consumers that are also called heterotrophs that means they are dependent upon producers for food.
- The parasites are the organisms that live on other living beings and extract their nutrition from them.
- The decomposers are those organisms that feed on the dead and decaying matter and extract their nutrition from them.
So, the correct answer is ‘Consumers’.

Note: The greater the secondary productivity is the greater will be the energy transfer in the trophic levels. The food chain and the length of the trophic levels are dependent upon the amount of secondary productivity produced. Trophic levels are the position of an organism in a food web.