Jessica and David spotted birds at the neighborhood park where they had a bird feeder set up. Why are the birds a consumer in this habitat?
A. They are eaten by other animals
B. They need food to survive
C. The birds make food of their own
To determine why birds are considered consumers in this habitat, we need to understand the role of consumers in an ecosystem. Consumers are organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms.
In this scenario, the birds are considered consumers because they need to acquire food from outside sources, such as the bird feeder, to meet their energy requirements. This is the key reason they are consumers in this habitat.
To arrive at this answer, we can eliminate options A and C:
A. While it is true that birds can be eaten by other animals, being consumed does not make them consumers. In this case, they would be considered prey. So, option A is not the correct choice.
C. The statement that birds make food of their own is incorrect. Unlike plants, which produce their own food through photosynthesis, birds cannot produce their own energy through the process of photosynthesis. Therefore, making their own food is not a characteristic of birds, making option C incorrect.
By process of elimination, the only remaining option is:
B. Birds need food to survive. This is the correct answer because the birds at the neighborhood park rely on the bird feeder as an external food source to fulfill their energy requirements, making them consumers in this habitat.