Parasitic Nutrition
Parasites are organisms that feeds on simple nutrients from the body of another organism called the host and cause harm to it. These organisms can be external or internal. Few examples of paraites are Ascaris (roundworms) which live in the human gut causing Ascariasis, Cymothoa exigua, a rare parasite that is also known as tongue-eating louse because it lives in the mouth of the marine fish Lithognathus, etc. Parasites are completely dependent on their host organisms for their survival. There are two types of parasites:
- Ectoparasites: The parasites that infect the host’s body externally to obtain their nutrition are called Ectoparasites. These include parasites like ringworm, bedbugs, lice, etc.
- Endoparasites: The parasites that infect the host body internally to obtain their nutrition are called Endoparasites. These include parasites like Tapeworms, Ascaris, etc.
Heterotrophic Nutrition
Heterotrophic mode of nutrition is most commonly seen in humans. Nutrition is broadly classified into two types- Autotrophic nutrition and Heterotrophic nutrition. In heterotrophic nutrition, the organism obtains and uses organic nutrients from other species. All the organisms belonging to Kingdom Fungi and Kingdom Animalia show completely heterotrophic nutrition. Organisms of Kingdom Plantae show a completely autotrophic type of nutrition, except for some parasitic, symbiotic, and partially heterotrophic plants.
Table of Content
- Heterotrophic Nutrition Definition
- Types of Heterotrophic Nutrition
- Saprophytic Nutrition
- Parasitic Nutrition
- Holozoic Nutrition
- Examples of Heterotrophic Nutrition