Food types and diet

The main type of food by which an organism derives nourishment for growth, function and reproduction.

Trait Definition

Autotroph

Self-feeding. An organism capable of synthesizing complex organic substances from simple inorganic substrates (Lincoln et al., 1998).

Photoautotroph

An organism that obtains metabolic energy from light by a photochemical process such as photosynthesis (e.g. seaweeds, phytoplankton) (Lincoln et al., 1998).

Chemoautotroph

An organism that obtains metabolic energy from oxidation of inorganic substrates such as sulphur, nitrogen or iron (e.g. some microorganisms) (Lincoln et al., 1998).

Mixotroph

An organism that is both autotrophic and heterotrophic

Heterotroph

An organism that obtains nourishment from exogenous (external) organic material (Lincoln et al., 1998).

Detritivore

An organism that feeds on fragmented particulate organic matter (detritus) (Lincoln et al., 1998).

Herbivore

An organism that only feeds on plants, including phytoplankton.

Omnivore

An organism that feeds on a mixed diet including plant and animal material (from Lincoln et al., 1998).

Saprophage

An organism that feeds on dead or decaying organic material (see Lincoln et al., 1998).

Carnivore

Flesh-eater.  An organism that feeds on animal tissue or meat.

Symbiont contribution

Where some dietary component(s) are provided by symbiotic organisms (e.g. Anemonia with zooxanthellae).

References

  1. Lincoln, R., Boxshall, G., & Clark, P., 1998. A Dictionary of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press