Hard bones provide primary support for the endoskeleton while more flexible cartilage is found at the end of all bones, at the joints, and in the nose and ears. In addition to providing support and protecting bodily organs, bones also produce blood cells and store minerals like calcium.

In the mesosphere, temperature again drops as altitude increases until the coldest point in the Earth's atmosphere, the mesopause, is reached where temperatures fall to −225 °F (−143 °C).

Primary consumers (herbivores) subsist on producers like plants and fungus. Examples are grasshoppers, cows, and plankton.

Found in both animal sources (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) and vegetables (beans, nuts, some grains), proteins are important for the body's maintenance, growth, and repair.

Secondary consumers (carnivores) subsist mainly on primary consumers. Omnivores are secondary consumers that also eat producers. Examples are rats, fish, and chickens.