Like the respiratory system, the circulatory system serves to transport oxygen throughout the body while removing carbon dioxide. In addition, the circulatory system transports nutrients from the digestive system.

Small quantities of certain minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, and salt are important for nutrition and health.

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

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

Veins carry blood back to the heart from the body. While arteries are thick-walled because they carry oxygenated blood at high pressure, veins are comparatively thin-walled as they carry low-pressure deoxygenated blood. Like the heart, veins contain valves to prevent blood backflow.