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Consumers(food chain)

Spotted hyenas with a stolen kill containing an Impala. Hyenas are one example of a tertiary consumer that rely on the feeding of other organisms for survival.

Consumers are organisms of an ecological food chain that relies upon the feeding of other organisms for survival. These organisms are formally refered to as heterotrophs, which are represented by all species of animals and a few species from the protist, moneran, plant, and fungus kingdoms.

Within an ecological food chain, consumers are categorized into three groups of: primary consumers, secondary consumers, and the tertiary consumers. Primary consumers are mainly defined by developing herbivore diets, feeding upon species of plants, while secondary consumers develop carnivorous and omnivorous diets, capable of preying upon both plants and other animals respectively. Tertiary consumers can be considered as an apex predator of a food chain, characterized by being categorized at the top of food chains and have no natural predators that can prey upon them. Humans are one example of a tertiary consumer. Parasitic organisms that form symbiosis relationships with other organisms can also be considered a consumer.

Consumers make up the majority of the trophic levels of a food chain and play essential ecological roles within their habitats by controlling the population of certain organisms to prevent them from overpopulating that would otherwise damage the health and the biodiversity of an ecosystem. Invasive species introduced by human activities are often classified as tertiary consumers and one of the main contributions to damaging ecosystems, due their situation of not having any natural predators within their introduced habitats.

See also

• Ecosystem
• Food chain
• Primary producers
• Invasive species
• Autotroph

Severe weather terminology

While there is no universal definition of what severe weather means, it can generally be defined as any aspect of weather that can pose risks to life or property and those that require the attention of authorities. Some authorities simply define severe weather as any weather phenomena relating to severe thunderstorm.

According to the World Meteorology Association, severe weather can be categorized into two groups based on how common they are able to form. Thunderstorms, and the phenomena that accompany them, have a wide geographic range where they can form. These weather occurrences can be classified as general severe weather. Blizzards and dust storms require more specific conditions to appear and therefore have a more limited geographic range. These forms of weather are classified as localized severe weather.

The term severe weather is often used interchangeably with extreme weather. Extreme weather describes unusual weather events that uncommonly occur in a certain area.

Consequences of genetic engineering

The modification of the DNA structures of agricultural crops can increase the growth rates and even resistance to different diseases caused by pathogens and parasites. This is extremely beneficial as it can greatly increase the production of food sources with the usage of fewer resources that would be required to host the world's growing populations. These modified crops would also reduce the usage of chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, and therefore decrease the severity and frequency of the damages produced by these chemical pollution. Domesticated animals can undergo the same mechanism. Genetic engineering can also increase the genetic diversity of species populations, especially those that are classified as being endangered. Increase in genetic diversity would enabled these organisms to evolve more efficiently that would allow better adaptation to the ecosystems they inhabit. It would also reduce the vulnerability of certain diseases produced by pathogens, as well as decrease the risk of inbreeding that would produce infertile youths. Genetic engineering can be performed to increase to the efficiency of the ecosystem services provided by the other organisms. For example, the modification of a tree's genes could perhaps increase the root systems of these organisms reduce the damage produced by flood phenomena through flood mitigation.

However, there is also much risks and disadvantages through the process of genetic engineering. Since the modification of the domesticated and farmed organisms are generally stronger or "fitter" than those in the wild, these organisms can devastate other organisms within the ecosystem, if should they escape from human industries. They can easily displace, outcompete, and decrease the population of other organisms through consumption. These organisms can also spread pathogens and parasites to other organisms of the ecosystems that they interact with, or even form parasitic symbiosis relationships themselves. Inbreeding can occur as well, as in some cases the genes of certain organisms have been modified so much that they don't correspond to those of natural species. New chemicals can also be produced by the modified organisms that have capabilities of producing harm to the environment. In the perspectives of humans, genetic engineering can limit the amount of food sources for certain people. Because genes from other organisms are inserted, certain people would not desire to consume the food with the inserted gene due to religion and beliefs. Other unknown risks can also arise that are often feared to be uncontrollable or unpreventable by humans.