We explain what an autotrophic being and a heterotrophic being is. What does this classification of living beings imply. Examples of autotrophs.
Energy. This classification distinguishes them into two groups:![Energy](/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cactus-adaptacion-min-e1523469034544.jpg>
<p><img src=//cqlife.net/img/images/biologa/cactus-adaptacion-min-e1523469034544.jpg></p></a>Plants are autotrophic, they make their food through photosynthesis.
<a id="menu-1"></a><h2>What is autotroph?</h2>
<p>When we speak of autotrophic organisms or of <em>autotrophic nutrition</em> we always refer to a classification of living beings based on their ability to obtain <a href=){kind=link}
- Heterotrophs. Those who must consume organic material coming from others living beings.
- Autotrophs. Those capable of managing the production of their own energy, taking advantage of the environmental elements.
In this way, an autotrophic being is one that does not need other living beings to nourish itself, but synthesizes from inorganic substances everything it needs for its metabolism. Put more simply: they are beings that make their own food.
There are two major autotrophic methods of nutrition: photosynthetics and chemiosynthetics. The former take advantage of the Water and the energy of the sunlight to break down the molecule carbon dioxide (CO2) of air surrounding, and thus obtain energy. The latter, on the other hand, do so by oxidizing inorganic chemicals such as sulfur dioxide or various iron-rich compounds. The former are known as beings photolithoautotrophs, and the seconds as beings chemolytotrophic.
Obviously, autotrophic beings represent the first step in the totality of the trophic cycles or food chains, since they constitute the producing link, that is, the one that takes the raw material directly from the environment. And they are the ones who provide organic matter to heterotrophic beings (whether herbivores, predators or even decomposers).
Examples of autotrophic beings
- The plants. From fruit trees, vines, shrubs, lawns, and tall tall trees, to the greenish moss that lines rocks near rivers, all of these living things manufacture their nutrients through photosynthesis.
- The seaweed. Algae of varying size and complexity, as well as the phytoplankton Microscopic found in abundance in the seas, they are autotrophic life forms typical of seas, lakes, and large bodies of water.
- Cyanobacteria. Previously known as blue-green algae, they are prokaryotic living beings (of cells without core), capable of carrying out the photosynthesis and fix the ambient nitrogen (N2) reducing it to a molecule useful at the cellular level, such as ammonium (NH4 +).
- Anaerobic bacteria. Some of the bacteria that make up the intestinal flora of HumansThey are a good example of autotrophic beings. They are in charge of decomposing the ingested organic matter and raising chemical reactions that break down their structures and simplify the digestive process, while extracting energy to sustain their own metabolisms.