Consumers eat the foods produced and decomposers recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem. In every ecosystem , there is a pathway of energy flow that always begins with the producers. Producers make organic nutrients which are transferred to consumers when the plants are eaten. Herbivores which eat plants are first level consumers. Carnivores that eat the plant eating animals are second level consumers.
Many consumers have a varied diet and fit in several places in the food chain.
This food chain is a series of organisms through which food energy is passed. Many food chains are interconnected at various points so food webs are formed. Decomposers play an important role because they make use of the wastes and remains of all organisms in the system. They use the energy for their own metabolism while breaking down organic compounds into inorganic ones and making substances available for reuse in the system. Decomposers are the final consumers in every food chain or food web.