Answer: Organism that cannot make its own food
What is a heterotroph?

Heterotroph - Wikipedia

Heterotrophic nutrition - Wikipedia

Heterotroph - Simple English Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Autotroph - Wikipedia

A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain heterotrophs are primary secondary and tertiary consumers but not producers. Living organisms that are heterotrophic include all animals and fungi some bacteria and protists and many parasitic plants. The term heterotroph arose in mi…

A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain heterotrophs are primary secondary and tertiary consumers but not producers. Living organisms that are heterotrophic include all animals and fungi some bacteria and protists and many parasitic plants. The term heterotroph arose in microbiology in 1946 as part of a classification of microorganisms based on their type of nutrition. The term is now used in many fields such as ecology in describing the food chain. Heterotrophs may be subdivided according to their energy source. If the heterotroph uses chemical energy it is a chemoheterotroph (e.g. humans and mushrooms). If it uses light for energy then it is a photoheterotroph (e.g. green non-sulfur bacteria). Heterotrophs represent one of the two mechanisms of nutrition (trophic levels) the other being autotrophs (auto = self troph = nutrition). Autotrophs use energy from sunlight (photoautotrophs) or oxidation of inorganic compounds (lithoautotrophs) to convert inorganic carbon dioxide to organic carbon compounds and energy to sustain their life. Comparing the two in basic terms heterotrophs (such as animals) eat either autotrophs (such as plants) or other heterotrophs or both. Detritivores are heterotrophs which obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). Saprotrophs (also called lysotrophs) are chemoheterotrophs that use extracellular digestion in processing decayed organic matter; the term most often used to describe fungi. The process is most often facilitated through the active transport of such materials through endocytosis within the internal mycelium and its constituent hyphae.

Heterotrophs can be organotrophs or lithotrophs . Organotrophs exploit reduced carbon compounds as electron sources like carbohydrates fats and proteins from plants and animals. On the other hand lithoheterotrophs use inorganic compounds such as ammonium nitrite or sulfur to obtain electrons. Another way of classifying different heterotrophs is by assigning them as chemotrophs

Heterotrophs can be organotrophs or lithotrophs . Organotrophs exploit reduced carbon compounds as electron sources like carbohydrates fats ...

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