Updated 05-May-2020.
Mondo shtuff from around the internet, all about HETEROTROPH!
My botty best at summarizing from Wikipedia: heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but not producers . term heterotroph arose in microbiology in 1946 as part of classification of microorganisms based on type of nutrition heterotroph uses chemical energy, it is a chemoheterotroph (e.g., humans and mushrooms) if it uses light for energy, then it’s a photoheterotrotroph (green non detritivores eat either autotrophs (such as plants) or other heterotrophs, or both . organotrophs exploit reduced carbon compounds as electron sources . lithoheterotrophs use inorganic compounds, such as ammonium, nitrite, or sulfur, to obtain electrons . phototrophs utilize light to obtain energy and carry out metabolic processes . mixotrophs can use either carbon dioxide or organic carbon as the carbon source . both heterotrophs and autotrophs alike depend on the metabolic activities of other organisms for nutrients other than carbon . this applies not only to animals Heterotrophs function as consumers in food chain: they obtain nutrients from saprotrophic, parasitic, or holozoic nutrients . they break down complex organic compounds produced by autotrophs into simpler compounds catabolize organic compounds by respiration, fermentation, or both . fermentation heterotrophs can undergo respiration and ATP production is coupled with oxidative phosphorylation . they can also undergo fermentation in low oxygen environments Heterotrophic microbes’ respiration and fermentation account for a large portion of the release of CO2 into the atmosphere . this makes it available for autotrophs as a source of nutrient and plants as conversion of N and S from organic form to inorganic form is a critical part of the nitrogen and sulfur cycle . H2S formed from desulfurylation is further oxidized by lithotrophs and photo Animals are classified as heterotrophs by ingestion . fungi are classed as homotrophs after absorption .