Read the information about the ways organisms and produce energy (get food!)
Then, make a list of species you might find in Brazil or Costa Rica in the white space below.
Autotrophs (producers)
Heterotrophs (consumers)
Living organisms are divided into two groups according to how they get their energy - autotrophs and heterotrophs.
Autotrophs are organisms that make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Autotrophs are also known as producers. The food they make is stored as chemical energy and is used to do work and to build their bodies.
Photosynthesis is the process in which autotrophs use energy from the sun along with water and carbon dioxide to create food for energy. Plants, algae, and some bacteria convert energy using this process.
How organisms obtain their energy will determine where that organism falls in an energy pyramid. An energy pyramid is a diagram that shows the amount of energy at each feeding level within an ecosystem.
Heterotrophs (consumers) depend on autotrophs for food, so autotrophs (producers) would be at the bottom of the energy pyramid. If autotrophs disappeared, heterotrophs would soon disappear too. Heterotrophs need autotrophs for energy.
While over 99 percent of the energy for life on earth is provided by autotrophs through photosynthesis, there is a small group of autotrophs that use chemical energy to produce food which is called chemosynthesis.
Autotrophs use the food they make but they also make enough to support other organisms as well. Plants, algae, and photosynthetic bacteria are important to other organisms for survival. Producers start food chains which feed all life.
Heterotrophs are organisms that are unable to make their own food. To get energy, heterotrophs must eat or absorb other organisms for energy. Heterotrophs are also known as consumers. Animals, fungi, and many protists and bacteria are examples of consumers.
Chemosynthesis is a way to produce energy without sunlight. Many bacteria in the deep oceans or in extreme environments produce energy using chemosynthesis.
Autotrophs and heterotrophs are very important in the transfer of energy in an ecosystem.
what is autotrophs
what is heterotrophs
