What type of organisms consumes other organisms for food?

Heterotrophs are organisms that obtain their energy and nutrients by consuming other organisms. This category includes a wide range of living things, such as animals, fungi, and some microbes, that rely on other organisms—either plants (in the case of herbivores) or other animals (in the case of carnivores and omnivores)—for sustenance.

Unlike autotrophs, which can produce their own food through processes like photosynthesis (in plants) or chemosynthesis (in some bacteria), heterotrophs must ingest organic matter to obtain the energy necessary for growth, reproduction, and other life processes. This relationship highlights the interdependence within ecosystems and is crucial to nutrient cycling.

The other types mentioned serve different roles: producers make their own energy (i.e., autotrophs), while decomposers break down dead organic material, returning essential nutrients to the environment. Thus, the defining characteristic of heterotrophs is their reliance on other organisms for food, which is fundamental to understanding food webs and energy flow in ecosystems.