Organisms that are able to synthesize their own food
Autotrophs are organisms that are able to synthesize their own food, using energy from the sun, with a process known as photosynthesis. All plants and some forms of bacteria come under this category. They are also known as producers in the food chain, because they are able to produce their own food and this food is used directly or indirectly by other members of the food chain.
Aututrophs are self-feeding or independent members of the ecosystem. They synthesize complex organic compounds such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats, from simple inorganic molecules, with the help of light energy or by inorganic chemical reactions. Depending on the method by which they synthesize their food, autotrophs are further classified into two categories:
Phototrophs
These are the majority of plants, which use light as an energy source.
Chemoautotrophs
Bacteria or fungi that obtain their food by inorganic chemical reactions.
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Types of Autotrophs
Autotrophic organisms are organisms that can convert inorganic materials into organic (can make their own food) with the help of energy such as sunlight and chemical energy. Autotrophic organisms can be divided into two types.
a) Fotoautotrof
Fotoautotrof
Photoautotrophs are organisms that can use light energy sources to convert inorganic materials into organic matter. For example, green plants, purple bacteria and green bacteria. The process of photosynthesis in bacteria is carried out anaerobically and oxygen is not produced.
b) Chemoautotrophs
Chemoautotroph
Chemoautotrophs are organisms that can utilize energy from chemical reactions to make their own food from organic matter. Examples are iron bacteria, splashed bacteria, nitrogen bacteria. Chemoautotrophic bacteria use chemical energy from organic oxymolecular molecules to arrange their food. Organic molecules that can be used by chemoautotrophic bacteria are nitrogen, sulfur and iron compounds, or from the oxidation of hydrogen gas. In the process these bacteria require oxygen .
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Definition of Heterotrophs
Heterotrophs (from Yunaniheterone: other and trophe: nutrition) are organisms that need organic compounds in which carbon is extracted for growth. Heterotrophs are known as "consumers" in the food chain. Included in heterotrophs are all animals, fungi and bacteria
In addition, all animals and other organisms that cannot make their own food are categorized as heterotrophs, including us. We are simply consumers who need external sources for food. Because we don't develop our own food, we usually carry it through the act of eating where food is digested and absorbed.
This method shows that we depend on outside sources for energy production, life preservation and maintenance of our health. Without food we can never survive. Now that's a fundamental difference between autotrophs and heterotrophs, so it is important that we have to respect where our food comes from. Humans commonly referred to as omnivores are considered at the top of the food chain and the tap can eat both food plants and animals.
Those organisms that get energy from organic molecules made by autotrophs are known as heterotrophs. These organisms fail to synthesize their own food and are dependent on producers or autotrophs, for the supply of organic compounds needed for their growth.
As heterotrophs obtain energy from producers, they function as consumers in the food chain. Complex organic compounds produced by autotrophs are broken down into simple substances, which provide energy to heterotrophs. Like autotrophs, heterotrophs are also classified as photoheterotrophs and chemoheterotrophs, depending on the energy source. Consumers are further classified into different categories, based on consumption mode.
Herbivore - A heterotroph that obtains energy directly from plants.
Carnivores - They are animals that eat other animals.
Omnivores - Animals that get their food from plants as well as from other animals.
Saprobes - Organisms that gain energy by breaking down the remains of dead plants and animals.
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Interaction of Autotrophs and Heterotrophs in Ecosystems
While speaking in terms of the food chain, organisms are classified by trophic or their feeding level in the ecosystem. Autotrophs such as plants that produce their own food, form the producer level. All food chains begin at the producer level. Primary consumers eat producers to obtain energy. Primary consumers are eaten by secondary consumers; secondary consumers are eaten by tertiary consumers, and so on.
A common example to explain the food chain of ecosystems where grass is a producer, and rats that eat grass become the main consumers. The mouse becomes the prey for snakes, who become secondary consumers. The light eats snakes, and becomes a tertiary consumer. Dead animals are consumed by decomposers, and thus nutrients are mixed back into the soil. The cycle of nutrient flow from one level to the next continues to repeat between the biotic and abiotic components in the ecosystem.
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