4 Types of
Autotrophism*
->All living things
need energy. People and other animals get their energy from the food they eat.
However, neither the plants on land nor the microbes that live around
hydrothermal vents eat. Instead, they manufacture their own
food.
->Plants harness energy from the sun to manufacture
sugars. This process is called photosynthesis. Sunlight, however, does not reach
the hydrothermal vent communities at the bottom of the ocean. Instead, the
microbes get their energy from different chemicals in hydrothermal fluid. For
example, some get their energy by breaking down hydrogen
sulfide.
Photosynthesis- The process by which plant cells use solar
energy to produce ATP. The conversion of unusable sunlight energy into usable
chemical energy, associated with the actions of
chlorophyll.
Chemosynthesis- Chemosynthesis is the ability for creatures
to use chemicals from the earth's interior for energy in the place of sunlight.
For more
information:
http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/infomods/vent_biology/chemosynthesis/