Final answer:
An autotroph is an organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals to produce its own food. They are also called producers and can be classified as photoautotrophs or chemoautotrophs. Their role is essential in every ecosystem as they provide energy to other organisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
An organism that can capture energy from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its own food is called an autotroph. These organisms are often referred to as producers in an ecosystem because they create food that other organisms, called heterotrophs, consume. Autotrophs can further be classified as photoautotrophs or chemoautotrophs.
Photoautotrophs, such as plants, algae, and certain types of bacteria like cyanobacteria, use sunlight to synthesize food through the process of photosynthesis. On the other hand, chemoautotrophs, a type of bacteria, produce their own food by extracting energy from inorganic chemical compounds in a process called chemosynthesis.
Autotrophs are essential to all ecosystems. Without these organisms, energy, in the form of food, would not be available to other living organisms, making life as we know it impossible.
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