Meaning of the Term Autotrophs?
What do you understand by the term autotrophs?
Meaning of the Term Autotrophs?
Autotrophs are the only producers in the ecosystem that provide food to all the other levels in the ecosystem. They produce their food not only for themselves but for the decomposers and consumers as well. In the consumers also there are three categories, those are herbivorous, carnivorous and omnivorous and for all these categories the food base is produced by the autotrophs.
Example- The plant is the producer (autotrophs), the plant is consumed by the deer that is the herbivore, and then the deer is consumed by the lion that is a carnivore, and then the lion is consumed by the decomposer, those are bacteria and worms, etc.
Now, how do autotrophs create their food? All the green plants come under this category, and as we know they produce their food by the process of photosynthesis. In this process, autotrophs take in substances from the outside and convert them into stored forms of energy. This material is taken in the form of carbon dioxide and water, which is converted into carbohydrates in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. Carbohydrates are utilised to provide energy to the plants. The carbohydrates within are not used immediately and are stored in the form of start with starch as the internal energy reserve to be used as and when required by the plants.
– Written By Aruja
