What are heterotrophic nutrition ?

Dear Meghana,

• Heterotrophic nutrition is a type of nutrition in which organisms depend upon other organisms for food to survive. Heterotrophic organisms have to take in all the organic substances they need to survive. 
• All animals, fungi, and non-photosynthesizing plants are heterotrophic. 
• A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food. They instead takes nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. 
  
• In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but never the producers.