organisms, such as algae, that convert solar energy to organic substances through the molecule, chlorophyll. Primary producers serve as a food source for higher organisms.
organisms at the base of the food chain
green plants which are able to manufacture food from simple inorganic substances.
those organisms that produce the initial nutrients in a food chain; usually through photosynthesis.
The species forming the base of a food web or the first link in a food chain. 859
Photosynthetic organisms that produce a ‘food source’ for the next level up the food chain.
Organisms that posses the capacity to produce organic compounds from inorganic material, with the aid of light or a chemically derived energy source. Primary producers compose the bottom of various food chains.
Plants that use sunlight to fix atmospheric carbon into organic matter through photosynthesis.
living things that produce their own food (e.g., bacteria and plants). | | | | | | | | | | N | O | | | | | | | X | Y | Z
organisms capable of making organic carbon compounds by fixing CO2
Primary producers are those organisms in an ecosystem that produce biomass from inorganic compounds (autotrophs). In almost all cases these are photosynthetically active organisms (plants, cyanobacteria and a number of other unicellular organisms; see article on photosynthesis). However, there are examples of archea (unicellular organisms) that produce biomass from the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds (chemoautotrophs) in hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean.