Autotrophs and Heterotrophs in the Food Web Quiz

Autotrophs and Heterotrophs

• Autotrophs and heterotrophs get their energy through cellular respiration, where cells use glucose or other food molecules to make ATP.
• Autotrophs make their own food, while heterotrophs must eat to get food.

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

• Food energy flows from autotrophs to heterotrophs through the food chain.
• The base of the food chain is made up of autotrophs, which produce food for the rest of the food chain and the entire food web.
• A food web is a diagram made of multiple food chains.

Types of Heterotrophs

• Primary consumers, such as deer or rabbits, eat autotrophs.
• Secondary consumers, such as foxes or snakes, eat primary consumers.
• Tertiary consumers, such as hawks, eat secondary consumers.
• Decomposers, such as fungi and bacteria, eat dead or decaying matter and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Energy Sources for Autotrophs

• Autotrophs use two main sources of energy to make food: sunlight and inorganic molecules.
• Phototrophs, such as green plants, algae, and some bacteria, use sunlight to make food through photosynthesis.
• Chemoautotrophs, such as some bacteria, use the energy stored in inorganic molecules to make food through chemosynthesis.

Chemoautotrophs

• Chemoautotrophs are especially common in deep sea vent ecosystems, where there is a lack of sunlight.
• Bacteria in deep sea vents use chemosynthesis to provide food and energy for the rest of the ecosystem.

Examples of Autotrophs and Heterotrophs

• Examples of autotrophs include corn, algae, trees, grass, cyanobacteria, and chemosynthetic bacteria.
• Examples of heterotrophs include beetles, fungi, lizards, hawks, and decomposers.

Decomposers

• Decomposers are heterotrophs that eat dead or decaying matter and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem.
• Examples of decomposers include some bacteria, worms, and fungi.