Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Organisms
Science
The Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Organisms in Plants and Animals
Plants and other photosynthetic organisms can make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Organisms that produce their own food are called autotrophic organisms. The prefix auto means self and troph is a root for nutrition. So autotrophic organisms make nutrition for themselves. Most aquatic producers are either algae or phytoplankton. These organisms are protists and not plants.
Cyanobacteria are actually prokaryotic bacteria which can carry out photosynthesis. Heterotrophic organisms like animals and fungi must ingest or absorb nutrients from the environment. Animals ingest their food. This means that they consume their food and digest it as it travels through their digestive system.
Fungi absorb their nutrients from the environment. They can release digestive enzymes, which break down nutrients that they can absorb. There are also archaea, bacteria and protists, which are heterotrophic and can not make their own food.