The autotrophs transform it into usable energy, which is consumed by the heterotrophs.

自养生物将其转化为可用的能量，这些能量被异养生物消耗。

It goes in one direction, from the source — typically the Sun — to the autotrophs.

它向一个方向流动，从源头——通常是太阳——到自养生物。

In an ecosystem, the organisms that can harness energy to create that fuel are known as producers, or autotrophs.

在生态系统中，能够利用能量制造燃料的生物被称为生产者或自养生物。

Plants, meanwhile, are autotrophs, or producers: they can synthesize their own fuel from sunlight, CO2, and other inorganic compounds.

植物，与此同时，作为“自养生物”，抑或是“生产者”：它们可以通过合成阳光，二氧化碳为自己提供能量，及其他无机化合物。

And the Sun isn't the only source of energy that autotrophs can harness, either.

太阳也不是自养生物可以利用的唯一能源。

Anyway, all usable energy enters an ecosystem through autotrophs, so I guess that makes them… power plants!

不管怎样，所有可用的能量都是通过自养生物进入生态系统的，所以我想这使它们成为了… … 发电厂！

And, as autotrophs, they help support a whole web of life.

作为自养生物，它们支撑着整个生命之网。

Because of their relationship with the sun, plants are called autotrophs, or organisms that use exposure to light to feed themselves.

由于与太阳的关系，植物被称为自养生物，或者是利用光照来养活自己的生物。

Sidenote: there are also some autotrophs that aren't plants, like cyanobacteria and algae, which photosynthesize to keep aquatic ecosystems running smoothly.

也有一些自养生物不是植物，如蓝藻和藻类，它们进行光合作用以保持水生生态系统的平稳运行。

Life forms are divided into two camps: autotrophs, like plants, that generate their own energy, and heterotrophs, like animals, that consume other organisms for energy.

自养，如植物，产生自己的能量，和异养，像动物，消耗其他生物的能量。

They can be herbivores like deer or caterpillars, which only eat autotrophs, or carnivores like lions or pythons, which eat herbivores and other carnivores.

它们可以是食草动物，比如鹿或毛毛虫，它们只吃自养生物，也可以是食肉动物，比如狮子或蟒蛇，它们吃食草动物和其他食肉动物。

" Remember that trees are autotrophs; they make their own food through photosynthesis, and the leaves are often called the 'food factories' for the tree, " Bezanson said.

“请记住，树木是自养生物；它们通过光合作用制造养分，叶子通常被称为树木的‘食物工厂’。”

The first life form wouldn't have had other organisms to consume, of course, so it must have been an autotroph, generating energy either from the sun or from chemical gradients.

当然，最初的生命本来就不会有其他生物来消耗其能量，所以它一定是从太阳或化学梯度产生能量的自养体。

Plants are the autotrophs in their ecosystems thanks to their photosynthesizing superpowers — they convert about 60 billion tons of carbon per year to produce sugars, mostly to fuel their own processes.

植物在其生态系统中是自养生物，这要归功于它们的光合作用超级能力——它们每年将大约 600 亿吨碳转化为糖，主要是为它们自己的生长过程提供燃料。

OK, so all other living things in an ecosystem that aren't autotrophs are heterotrophs, or consumers — these are the walls, windows, and roofs that rely on the foundation of autotrophs.

好了，那么生态系统中所有其他不是自养生物的生物都是异养生物，或消费者——这些是依靠自养生物基础的墙壁，窗户和屋顶。