In an ecosystem, what do you call organisms like lions that capture and kill other animals for food?
leaders
hunters
alphas
predators
Consumers get their food in different ways Figure below . Grazers feed on living organisms without killing them. A rabbit nibbles on leaves and a mosquito sucks a drop of blood. Predators , like lions, capture and kill animals for food. The animals they eat are called prey . Even some plants are consumers. Pitcher plants trap insects in their sticky fluid in their “pitchers. ” The insects are their prey. Scavengers eat animals that are already dead. This hyena is eating the remains of a lion’s prey. Decomposers break down dead organisms and the wastes of living things. This dung beetle is rolling a ball of dung (animal waste) back to its nest. The beetle will use the dung to feed its young. The mushrooms pictured are growing on a dead log. They will slowly break it down. This releases its nutrients to the soil.