2.2.9—Consumer energy sources

Consumers obtain organic carbon from other organisms or remains; classify them by how they obtain it.

Herbivores eat producers, predators capture prey, parasites feed on hosts, scavengers eat carcasses, detritivores ingest fragments and saprotrophs digest externally.

A woodlouse ingests dead leaves as a detritivore; a fungus releases enzymes and absorbs dissolved products as a saprotroph.

Scavenger; classify the feeding route, not the animal’s appearance.

Detritivores ingest fragments; saprotrophs digest outside the body.