autotroph Encyclopedic Entry producer

Transcription

1 This website would like to remind you: Your browser (Safari 7) is out of date. Update your browser for more security, comfort and the best experience on this site. Encyclopedic Entry autotroph producer For the complete encyclopedic entry with media resources, visit: An autotroph is an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals. Because autotrophs produce their own food, they are sometimes called producers. Plants are the most familiar type of autotroph, but there are many different kinds of autotrophic organisms. Algae, which live in water and whose larger forms are known as seaweed, is autotrophic. Phytoplankton, tiny organisms that live in the ocean, are autotrophs. Some types of bacteria are autotrophs. Most autotrophs use a process called photosynthesis to make their food. In photosynthesis, autotrophs use energy from the sun to convert water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air into a nutrient called glucose. Glucose is a type of sugar. The glucose gives plants energy. Plants also use glucose to make cellulose, a substance they use to grow and build cell walls. All plants with green leaves, from the tiniest mosses to towering fir trees, synthesize, or create, their own food through photosynthesis. Algae, phytoplankton, and some bacteria also perform photosynthesis. Some rare autotrophs produce food through a process called chemosynthesis, rather than through photosynthesis. Autotrophs that perform chemosynthesis do not use energy from the sun to produce food. Instead, they make food using energy from chemical reactions, often combining hydrogen sulfide or methane with oxygen. Organisms that use chemosynthesis live in extreme environments, where the 1 of 6

2 toxic chemicals needed for oxidation are found. For example, bacteria living in active volcanoes oxidize sulfur to produce their own food. At Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, bacteria capable of chemosynthesis have been found in hot springs. Bacteria that live in the deep ocean, near hydrothermal vents, also produce food through chemosynthesis. A hydrothermal vent is a narrow crack in the seafloor. Seawater seeps down through the crack into hot, partly melted rock below. The boiling-hot water then circulates back up into the ocean, loaded with minerals from the hot rock. These minerals include hydrogen sulfide, which the bacteria use in chemosynthesis. Autotrophic bacteria that produce food through chemosynthesis have also been found at places on the seafloor called cold seeps. At cold seeps, hydrogen sulfide and methane seep up from beneath the seafloor and mix with the ocean water and dissolved carbon dioxide. The autotrophic bacteria oxidize these chemicals to produce energy. Autotrophs in the Food Chain To explain a food chain a description of which organisms eat which other organisms in the wild scientists group organisms into trophic, or nutritional, levels. There are three trophic levels. Because autotrophs do not consume other organisms, they are the first trophic level. Autotrophs are eaten by herbivores, organisms that consume plants. Herbivores are the second trophic level. Carnivores, creatures that eat meat, and omnivores, creatures that eat all types of organisms, are the third trophic level. Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores are all consumers they consume nutrients rather than making their own. Herbivores are primary consumers. Carnivores and omnivores are secondary consumers. All food chains start with some type of autotroph (producer). For example, autotrophs such as grasses grow in the Rocky Mountains. Mule deer are herbivores (primary consumers), which feed on the autotrophic grasses. 2 of 6

3 Carnivores (secondary consumers) such as mountain lions hunt and consume the deer. In hydrothermal vents, the food chain s producer is autotrophic bacteria. Primary consumers such as snails and mussels consume the autotrophs. Carnivores such as octopus consume the snails and mussels. An increase in the number of autotrophs will usually lead to an increase in the number of animals that eat them. However, a decrease in the number and variety of autotrophs in an area can devastate the entire food chain. If a wooded area burns in a forest fire or is cleared to build a shopping mall, herbivores such as rabbits can no longer find food. Some of the rabbits may move to a better habitat, and some may die. Without the rabbits, foxes and other meat-eaters that feed on them also lose their food source. They, too, must move to survive. Vocabulary Term algae plural (singular: alga) diverse group of aquatic organisms, the largest of which are seaweeds. autotroph organism that can produce its own food and nutrients from chemicals in the atmosphere, usually through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. bacteria plural (singular: bacterium) single-celled organisms found in every ecosystem on Earth. carbon dioxide greenhouse gas produced by animals during respiration and used by plants during photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also the byproduct of burning fossil fuels. carnivore organism that eats meat. cellulose complex carbohydrate that forms the tough, rigid cell wall of most plants and is necessary for such products as paper and textiles. cell wall tough, rigid, and non-living barrier surrounding the soft cells of most autotrophs, such as plants. 3 of 6

4 Term process by which some microbes turn carbon dioxide chemosynthesis and water into carbohydrates using energy obtained from inorganic chemical reactions. circulate verb to move around, often in a pattern. cold seep marine environment where hydrogen sulfide and methane seep up from beneath the seafloor and mix with the ocean water. consume verb to use up. consumer organism on the food chain that depends on autotrophs (producers) or other consumers for food, nutrition, and energy. convert verb to change from one thing to another. decrease verb to lower. devastate verb to destroy. energy capacity to do work. fir variety of pine tree. food material, usually of plant or animal origin, that living organisms use to obtain nutrients. food chain group of organisms linked in order of the food they eat, from producers to consumers, and from prey, predators, scavengers, and decomposers. forest ecosystem filled with trees and underbrush. fox type of mammal related to a dog with a thin muzzle and thick tail. glucose "simple sugar" chemical produced by many plants during photosynthesis. grass type of plant with narrow leaves. habitat environment where an organism lives throughout the year or for shorter periods of time. herbivore organism that eats mainly plants. hot spring small flow of water flowing naturally from an underground water source heated by hot or molten rock. 4 of 6

5 hydrogen sulfide hydrothermal chemical compound gas responsible for the foul odor of rotten eggs. related to hot water, especially water heated by the adjective Earth's internal temperature. increase verb to add or become larger. methane mineral chemical compound that is the basic ingredient of natural gas. inorganic material that has a characteristic chemical composition and specific crystal structure. moss tiny plant usually found in moist, shady areas. mountain lion mule deer mussel nutrient large cat native to North and South America. Also called a cougar, puma, catamount, and panther. large deer (mammal) with long ears native to North America. aquatic animal with two shells that can open and close for food or defense. substance an organism needs for energy, growth, and life. octopus marine animal (mollusk) with a soft body and eight arms. omnivore organism that eats a variety of organisms, including plants, animals, and fungi. organism living or once-living thing. oxidation photosynthesis phytoplankton plant primary Term consumer chemical process of a substance combining with oxygen to change the substance's physical and molecular structure. process by which plants turn water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into water, oxygen, and simple sugars. microscopic organism that lives in the ocean and can convert light energy to chemical energy through photosynthesis. organism that produces its own food through photosynthesis and whose cells have walls. organism that eats plants or other autotrophs. 5 of 6

6 Term producer organism on the food chain that can produce its own energy and nutrients. Also called an autotroph. rabbit mammal with long ears that hops on strong hind legs. Rocky mountain range in the western United States and Mountains Canada. seafloor surface layer of the bottom of the ocean. seaweed marine algae. Seaweed can be composed of brown, green, or red algae, as well as "blue-green algae," which is actually bacteria. secondary consumer organism that eats meat. seep verb to slowly flow through a border. shrub type of plant, smaller than a tree but having woody branches. snail marine or terrestrial animal (mollusk) with a shell and one foot on which it glides. soil top layer of the Earth's surface where plants can grow. sugar type of chemical compound that is sweet-tasting and in some form essential to life. sulfur chemical element with the symbol S. toxic adjectivepoisonous. trophic level one of three positions on the food chain: autotrophs (first), herbivores (second), and carnivores and omnivores (third). volcano an opening in the Earth's crust, through which lava, ash, and gases erupt, and also the cone built by eruptions. Websites National Geographic Ocean: Marine Food Chain National Geographic Society. All rights reserved. 6 of 6