Autotrophs and Heterotrophs

There are so many organisms living on this planet. It’s important to distinguish these animals in some way.  Since all kinds of organisms eat food to gain nutrition, these organisms are differentiated based on what they eat. After years of research these organisms are categorized into two types:

• Autotrophs
• Heterotrophs

In this article, we will define what autotrophs and heterotrophs are and how they are different from one another.

What are Autotrophs?

Autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own food using sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and other chemicals. Since they can produce their food they are also known as primary producers.

The word autotrophs are derived from the Greek word ‘auto’ which means ‘self’ and ‘troph’, meaning ‘feeding’. Plants are a great example of autotrophs since they use photosynthesis to make their own food. Algae, seaweed, and phytoplankton are autotrophs.

For the people who don’t know, photosynthesis is the process by which plants turn sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into glucose (sugar) and oxygen. Glucose gives plants energy and helps them to make cellulose.

The triangular shape of trees and plants help them gain maximum sunlight which ultimately helps in photosynthesis. Plants which don’t have abundant chlorophyll rely on other autotrophic plants for nutrition. Such plants are called heterotrophic plants.

Some rare autotrophs use chemosynthesis to produce their own food. In chemosynthesis, organisms do not use sunlight to make their food. Instead, they make food from the energy generated from the chemical reactions. This includes a combination of two chemicals: hydrogen sulphide or methane with oxygen.

Usually, the organisms that use chemosynthesis to produce food are found in extreme environments where they can easily find the toxic chemicals needed for oxidation.

What are Heterotrophs?

Heterotrophs are organisms that cannot make their food and thus, eat other organisms – both plants and animals to gain nutrition. The term is derived from the Greek word ‘hetero’ for ‘other’ and ‘troph’ for ‘nourishment’. 

Heterotrophs are commonly referred to as consumers since they consume other producers or other consumers. Humans, fish and dogs are examples of heterotrophs. 

We can also define heterotrophs based on food chemistry in this way: The organisms who gain nutrients from organic compounds are known as Heterotrophs. These organic compounds are further used by heterotrophs to form biomolecules such as carbohydrates, simple sugars, fats, proteins and nucleic acids.

Heterotrophs can be further categorised into 4 types based on the source of nutrition:

1. Herbivores:

These animals get nutrition by only eating plants. Examples of herbivorous animals are cows and buffalos.

2. Carnivorous:

Carnivorous animals mostly eat meat or the flesh of animals. This is the reason why they are known as predators. Bears, lions, and tigers are good examples of carnivorous organisms.

3. Omnivorous:

Animals that get nutrition by eating both plants and animals are known as omnivorous. Humans, dogs, and birds are omnivorous.

4. Decomposers:

Decomposers are the animals that feed on dead and decay matters such as leaf litter, wood, animal carcasses and much more. Worms, insects, fungi, bacteria are some examples of decomposers.

Key Differences Between Autotrophs and Heterotrophs:

Conclusion:

Both autotrophs and heterotrophs are important in balancing the ecosystem. We hope that through this article you have learned a lot of new things about these organisms. 

If you have understood the meaning and differences of these organisms then it will help you to understand our ecosystem on a much deeper level.

The only thing you need to remember here is that autotrophs can make their own food using photosynthesis. While heterotrophs rely on other animals for nutrition.