Question

Heterotrophs are organisms that consume other organisms in order to gain nutrients. Compare heterotrophs that eat autotrophs to heterotrophs that eat other heterotrophs in terms of how they obtain nutrients. Explain your answer in one to two sentences.

Answer 1

Heterotrophs that eat autotrophs (primary consumers) obtain nutrients directly from producers, taking in organic carbon, energy, and built-up minerals that autotrophs synthesized from inorganic sources. Heterotrophs that eat other heterotrophs (secondary/tertiary consumers) obtain those nutrients indirectly by consuming consumer biomass, relying on energy and nutrients already processed by other organisms and typically receiving less energy per unit because of trophic transfer inefficiency.