15 Examples of Heterotrophic Organisms - encyclopedia

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Examples of heterotrophic organisms
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The heterotrophic organisms They are those that must transform the organic matter of other living beings to acquire the nutrients and energy necessary to survive. They differ from autotrophic organisms, capable of synthesizing the substances necessary for their growth and survival from inorganic materials.

This type of feeding requires the prior presence of organic matter to consume and convert into its own and is common to all members of the animal Kingdom, fungi, protozoa, most of the bacteria and the arches. Plants and phytocellular organisms are, instead, autotrophs. And there are organisms capable of both feeding methods, called mixtotrophs.

The life of the heterotrophic organisms, then, it will be conditioned to the consumption of organic matter (living or dead, as the case may be) and for this they have various metabolisms capable of extracting nutrients of energy or structural value (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates) which will then integrate their own bodies, and dispose of the rest through some excretion system. They are, to that extent, the great transformers of organic matter.

It can serve you: Examples of Autotrophic Organisms

Examples of heterotrophic organisms

Goats, cows and ruminant animals. On an exclusively vegetarian diet, these animals extract from plants all the organic content necessary to survive and build their own tissues, which serve as sustenance for the predators.
Lions, tigers, big cat predators. The great meat eaters of the animal kingdom require hunting and devouring other animals, usually the big ones. herbivores that match their habitats, in order to consume the necessary nutrients to kick-start their own metabolism.
Fungi and decomposers of the fungi kingdom. Fungi, despite being immobile like plants, do not share with them the photosynthesis capacity that allows converting sunlight into energy, so they must decompose and absorb previous organic matter, either from humus in decomposition of the soils in the forests, of the humid and enclosed parts of the skin of a host, or of the excrements of other living beings, depending on the type of fungus (decomposer, parasite, etc.).
Fish and eels and rays. Predators of the underwater animal kingdom, organized into various possible Trophic chains in which, as the proverb says, there is always a bigger fish. The truth is that they must consume other smaller living beings to assimilate the molecular and caloric content of their bodies (they generally digest them whole) and thus keep their own going.
Whales and other marine mammals. Some of these sea mammals, like the dolphin, they prey on small fish like the sardine; others feed on microscopic plankton filtering from the waters, such as whales. In both cases, they require the consumption and digestion of these living beings to extract the nutrients necessary for life.
Most bacteria. The most abundant organisms on the planet, of which approximately 50% are known, are the great transformers of matter on the planet. Many of them are autotrophic, capable of photosynthesis or from chemosynthesis, but the vast majority are dedicated to the processing of external organic substances, either parasitizing other living beings or decomposing dead organic matter.
Carnivorous plants. Nicknamed this way because they have organs specifically adapted to the digestion of small insects that, attracted by the sweetness of their aromas (or often because they smell like decomposing meat), are later captured and slowly digested to provide the plant with supplementary organic material.
All kinds of birds. Whether they eat insects and worms, tree fruits or leaves, floral nectar, fish and small rodents, or other smaller birds, birds as a whole require the ingestion and assimilation of matter. coming from other living beings in order to stay alive.
Elephants, rhinos, hippos. These large African mammals, despite their size, feed on tons and tons of vegetables, seeds, shrubs, and bark. All of this rich in organic matter to assimilate and that nourishes the composition of their voluminous quadruped bodies.
Protozoa. Their name means "first animal" and it is because they are unicellular organisms Y eukaryotes, but in turn predators or detritivores, that is, heterotrophs (although in some cases they may be mixotrophic or partially autotrophic). A good example of its way of nourishing itself is the amoeba (or amoeba), which phagocytes cells of other types, including other protozoa, and after isolating them inside, dissolves them and assimilates the cellular content of the prey into its body.
Earthworms, moisture bugs, and other detritivores. They are called "detritivores" because they eat detritus, that is, residues or waste from other biotic processes, such as rotten wood, organic remains of dead animals, etc. These animals are vital for the energy transmission chain in the trophic pyramids and are, of course, heterotrophs.
Mice, marmots and rodents in general. With a wide and varied diet, which can range from eggs and small lizards to pieces of cardboard or wood, rodents are all heterotrophs since they depend on the intake of these materials, live or not, to be able to nourish their own body.
Octopus, mollusks and bivalves. Other marine inhabitants that tend to either prey on crustaceans or even smaller mollusks, or simply filter plankton from the waters through a barb system. Either way, they are beings in need of organic matter to live and provided with metabolisms adapted to their specific diet.
Spiders, scorpions and arachnids. The great predators of the world of arthropods, are the arachnids: hunters and eaters of other vegetarian insects or hunters in turn, are equipped with all the necessary arsenal to violate or trap their prey and then sip their juices to feed themselves, leaving behind an empty shell and sometimes not even that.
The man. The largest omnivore, capable of feeding on most of the animal or plant species that it knows and cultivates in captivity, as well as plants and vegetables, and even food produced industrially from organic substances, is the closest example of heterotrophic feeding that we have.