An organism that must eat to obtain energy storage molecules such as starch and fat?

• A. Predator
• B. Consumer
• C. Producer
• D. Decomposer

Answer: (B)

In ecosystems, energy flows from producers that capture light or chemical energy to consumers that must ingest other organisms to obtain energy and storage molecules like fats and glycogen. An organism that must eat to obtain these energy stores fits the role of a consumer, because its energy comes from consuming other living things rather than making it from scratch. Predators are a type of consumer, but the broad category that matches this trait best is consumer. Producers generate their own energy through photosynthesis and store energy in compounds such as starch or fats, not by eating. Decomposers obtain energy by breaking down dead matter, not by consuming living organisms to harvest energy reserves in the typical sense. So this trait points to the organism being a consumer.