Question

Since consumers can only do one of the metabolic processes, how do they compensate since plants can do both?

Answer 1

Plants can perform both photosynthesis and cellular respiration, while consumers can only perform cellular respiration. Consumers rely on plants for their energy needs.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the context of metabolism, plants can perform both photosynthesis and cellular respiration, whereas consumers, such as animals, can only perform cellular respiration. This allows plants to generate their own food by converting energy from sunlight into carbohydrates through photosynthesis. Consumers, on the other hand, rely on plants for their energy needs by consuming the organic molecules produced through photosynthesis.

For example, herbivores eat plant material to obtain the energy stored in carbohydrates, and then carnivores obtain energy by consuming herbivores. This interconnectedness between plants and consumers ensures that energy flows through the ecosystem.

While consumers cannot compensate for this limitation, they have adaptations and behaviors that allow them to efficiently obtain energy from the available resources in their environment.