Autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own food from the substances available in their surroundings using light (photosynthesis) or chemical energy (chemosynthesis). Heterotrophs cannot synthesize their own food and rely on other organisms — both plants and animals — for nutrition. Technically, the definition is that autotrophs obtain carbon from inorganic sources like carbon dioxide (CO2) while heterotrophs get their reduced carbon from other organisms. Autotrophs are usually plants; they are also called "self feeders" or "primary producers".
 Autotrophs produce their own energy by one of the following two methods:
Heterotrophs survive by feeding on organic matter produced by or available in other organisms. There are two types of heterotrophs:
Food ChainAutotrophs do not depend on other organism for their food. They are the primary producer and are placed first in the food chain. Heterotrophs that depend on autotrophs and other heterotrophs for their energy level are placed next on the food chain. Herbivores that feed on autotrophs are placed in the second trophic level. Carnivores that eat meat and omnivores that eat all types of organisms are placed next in the trophic level. References
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views updated Jun 11 2018 Photoautotrophs Chemoautotrophs An autotroph is an organism able to make its own food. Autotrophic organisms convert inorganic molecules into organic compounds. Autotrophs are referred to as primary producers, and they occupy the ecological niche at the base of all food chains. There are two categories of autotrophs, distinguished by the type of energy each uses to synthesize organic products. Photoautotrophs use light energy and chemoautotrophs use chemical energy. PhotoautotrophsPhotoautotrophs are the most common autotrophs. Plants and some photosynthetic bacteria comprise the majority of photoautotrophs. Photoautotrophs contain organelles called chloroplasts, which have the ability to convert the energy from photons into chemical energy stored in sugars and other energy-containing molecules. This process is known as photosynthesis. Photosynthesis also requires water, which plants usually acquire through their roots and atmospheric carbon dioxide, which plants acquire through their leaves. In addition, photosynthesis results in the production of inorganic oxygen. Plants and other photoautotrophs play an important ecological role in nearly all terrestrial ecosystems. Because photoautotrophs convert light energy into energy that is stored in energy-rich molecules, animals depend on them as a source of both energy and nutrients. Photosynthesizers form the base of common ecological food webs. For example, the base of the forest food chain may be trees; the base of a savannah food chain may be grasses; and the base of a desert food chain may be cacti. ChemoautotrophsChemoautotrophs are bacteria that use chemical energy in inorganic compounds as a source of energy. They synthesize sugars from the inorganic molecule carbon dioxide. Sulfur reducers are chemoautotrophs that use the energy in inorganic sulfur compounds as a source of energy. Sulfur reducers can be found living near vents and active volcanoes on the ocean floor, where inorganic sulfur from within the Earth’s core is released into the ocean water. These bacteria may live as symbionts with tube worms and clams found near the vents, providing them with a source of nutrition as well. These chemoautotrophic bacteria thrive at extremely high temperatures. Many of these bacteria, called extremophiles, are classified in the Domain Achaea.
views updated May 29 2018 An autotroph is an organism able to make its own food. Autotrophic organisms take inorganic substances into their bodies and transform them into organic nourishment. Autotrophs are essential to all life because they are the primary producers at the base of all food chains. There are two categories of autotrophs, distinguished by the energy each uses to synthesize food. Photoautotrophs use light energy; chemoautotrophs use chemical energy. PhotoautotrophsPlants are the most abundant and recognizable autotrophs on Earth . If you have noticed a houseplant on a windowsill imperceptibly turn its leaves toward the sun , you have probably guessed that plants are photoautotrophs. Plant leaves soak up the energy in sunlight and use it to make food. Plants take in water through their roots and atmospheric carbon dioxide through their leaves. Plant cells absorb light energy to fuel the synthesis of inorganic hydrogen , oxygen , and carbon into a sugar that nourishes them. This process is known as photosynthesis . Because plants, as autotrophs, make living tissue solely out of nonliving material, they form the foundation of all food chains. Can you think of one thing you eat that does not, ultimately, come from plants? Plants are called primary producers because they create themselves out of transformed inorganic matter and, thus, are the "original food" that sustains all living things. ChemoautotrophsUntil recently, scientists believed there existed only a few kinds of bacteria that used chemical energy to create their own food. Some of these bacteria were found living near vents and active volcanos on the lightless ocean floor. The bacteria create their food using inorganic sulfur compounds gushing out of the vents from the hot interior of the planet . In 1993, scientists found many new species of chemoautotrophic bacteria living in fissured rock far below the ocean floor. These bacteria take carbon dioxide and water into their bodies and use the chemical energy in sulfur compounds to create nourishing carbohydrates and sugars. A unique characteristic of these chemoautotrophic bacteria is that they thrive at temperatures high enough to kill other organisms. Some scientists believe these unique bacteria should be classified in their own new taxonomic kingdom.
views updated Jun 11 2018 An organism that derives its carbon for building body tissues from carbon dioxide (CO2) or carbonates and obtains its energy for bodily functions from radiant sources, such as sunlight, or from the oxidation of certain inorganic substances. The leaves of green plants and the bacteria that oxidize sulfur, iron, ammonium, and nitrite are examples of autotrophs. The oxidation of ammonium to nitrite, and of nitrite to nitrate, a process called nitrification , is a critical part of the nitrogen cycle . Moreover, the creation of food by photosynthetic organisms is largely an autotrophic process.
views updated May 21 2018 autotroph An organism that uses carbon dioxide as its main or sole source of carbon. Compare heterotroph.
views updated Jun 08 2018 autotroph An organism that uses carbon dioxide as its main or sole source of carbon. Compare HETEROTROPH.
views updated May 17 2018 autotroph An organism that uses carbon dioxide as its main or sole source of carbon. Compare HETEROTROPH. Food Web , All organisms, dead or alive, are potential food sources for other organisms. A caterpillar eats a leaf, a robin eats the caterpillar, a hawk eats th… Biotic Factor , An ecosystem is a community of organisms that interact with each other and with the abiotic and biotic factors in their environment. Abiotic factors… Aerobic , Aerobic Aerobic refers to oxygen as it concerns an organism. Specifically, an organism that is described as being aerobic (or an aerobe) means that t… Laws Of Thermodynamics , Thermodynamics, Laws of One way of understanding the environment is to understand the way matter and energy flow through the natural world. For examp… Ecosystems , An ecosystem (ecological system) is a living community and its nonliving environment. It is a term used by life scientists to break up the biosphere… Trophic Level , A trophic level consists of organisms that get their energy from a similar source. Each step in a food chain is a trophic level. A food chain is a se… autostylic jaw suspension Autoroutes du Sud de la France SA Autry, Gene (originally Orvin Gene Autry) Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio Autumn Sonata (Sonata de Otoño) by Ramón del Valle-Inclán, 1902 |
What organisms use inorganic sources of both carbon and energy to synthesize organic compounds?
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