Question

In a forest habitat, the white-tailed deer eats tree leaves and grass while a Cooper’s hawk hunts for small rodents and birds to eat. In the ground, earthworms break down dead grasses and leaves. In the forest habitat described here, the white tailed deer is classified as a

A) consumer.
B) decomposer.
C) predator. Eliminate
D) producer.

Answer 1

The deer would be classified as a consumer.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A) Consumer

Step-by-step explanation:

In food chains or similar, consumers refer to organisms that feed on other living organisms to obtain energy and live. This is the opposite of producers such as plants or algae that produce their food through photosynthesis, and from decomposers that feed on dead matter. Moreover, the term consumer differs from the term predator because predation involves killing and eating another organism, and it is mainly used if one animal kills and eats another animal.

According to this, in the situation described the white-tailed deer is a consumer because this animal needs to eat grass and tree leaves (living organisms) to obtain energy and survive. Additionally, the white-tailed deer cannot be classified as a predator because the deer do not kill another animal.