Heterotrophs Pyramid Structure

Heterotrophs are any organism that consumes organic carbon and energy that is fixed by primary producers. This unit discussed an extremely important pyramid, somewhat like a food chain that categorizes heterotrophs. 1st level of the pyramid are herbivores, 2nd level are carnivores. Eukaryotes are single celled or multi-celled, recapped in this unit, the primary consumers are the herbivores, the secondary consumers are the herbivore consumers, and the tertiary consumers are the top predators. The heterotrophs are a very diverse group, which range from bacteria to large predators. They can either filter feed, or feed through active predation.

Through this unit I learned that the trick to remembering who the heterotrophic microbes are, is to think of them
as the prokaryotes (bacteria & archaea), and the organisms that eat the prokaryotes.
This part of the pyramid in which we are learning about is essential to all ecosystem functioning. There are 3 main types of heterotrophic consumers that we discussed in this unit; Microbes, Copepods, Krill and Salps, and Nekton. Each consumer plays a different yet vital role in the growth and continuation of the life within the ocean and on earth. Microbes consist of bacteria, protozoa, and forams. The bacteria consume only dissolved organic material. Almost 90% of all primary production becomes a bacterium, and they all produce dissolved organic material. The Protozoa similarly are single celled, however, they consume bacteria. Forams otherwise known as amoebae, eat bacteria and are herbavores. The Copepods, krill and salps are the most important consumers of the phytoplankton. Copepods are the most abundant herbivore and the largest consumer of phytoplankton. Krill are known to be the staple diet to some of the biggest mammals on earth, like the shark and the whale. Salps are jelly in type, and are made up of mostly water. They have the largest fecal matter out of the three and are
filter feeders. Next we covered some examples of Nekton, which means “swimmer”. To understand this I really had to dive into what swimmer actually meant, and really it is most clearly understood when you think of these creatures as being able to go against the current. Unlike sharks, phytoplankton cannot control their movement nor can they go against a heavy current. The ability for creatures big and small to be able to go against a current is extremely vital to their ability to survive in the ocean, find food, and reproduce. Here we discussed jelly fish, sharks, whales, large mammals such as sea lions, and learned the differences between them.

The energy flow from our planet to the autotrophs and heterotrophs, and back again is important to note in this unit. This cycle is really all about taking sunlight that hits the earth and mobilizing it. All the photosynthesizing autotrophs use the sunlight energy as organic matter to be used as carbon and other elements in order to carry out life on earth and in the oceans. The cycle continues out each and every day all branching from the mobilization and utilization of the sun’s energy. The Biological Pump is he process where CO2 from the atmosphere diffuses into the surface ocean, is turned into organic carbon through primary production, and then is transported to the deep ocean through various physical and biological processes. In simplest form, the biological pump is the oceans’ sequestration of carbon to the ocean. This allows for life both on earth and in the ocean and is crucial to the survival of life on our earth.