Consumers in an ecosystem are defined as organisms that?

Consumers in an ecosystem are defined as organisms that feed on other organisms for energy. This category includes various types of animals, such as herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, which rely on plants and other animals as their food sources. By consuming these organisms, consumers play a crucial role in the energy flow through an ecosystem, transferring energy from producers (like plants) to various levels of the food chain.

In ecosystems, consumers cannot produce their food through processes such as photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, which are characteristic of producers and some bacteria, respectively. They may also not directly contribute to the decomposition of organic matter, which is primarily the role of decomposers like fungi and bacteria. Thus, the definition of consumers is specifically tied to their functionality in consuming other organisms to obtain the necessary energy for survival and growth.