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Why does the Earth lack a mobile form of autotrophs?

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There are examples of motile autotrophs. Many protists have chloroplasts and flagella both. This is not uncommon. Below is a photo of a euglena. Many euglenoids are mixotrophs, which means they employ both heterotrophy and autotrophy to obtain energy. read more

However, it does seem like motility is more often associated with heterotrophy. I think the reason is this: Cytoplasm has concentrated solutes that draw water from the environment. read more

But the venus fly trap expends a lot of energy in the very simple movement it makes to kill something. This is why it has evolved to only snap shut on something big enough to be worth the cost. The two things are very different, and being an autotroph simply wouldn’t be beneficial to humans (or any animal really). read more

Phytoplankton, tiny organisms that live in the ocean, are autotrophs. Some types of bacteria are autotrophs. Most autotrophs use a process called photosynthesis to make their food. In photosynthesis, autotrophs use energy from the sun to convert water from the soil and carbon dioxide from the air into a nutrient called glucose. Glucose is a type of sugar. read more

Encyclopedia Research

Wikipedia:

Image Answers

Photosynthesis
Source: paksc.org

Further Research

Animal and Plant Cells
www.wyzant.com

Autotrophs and Heterotrophs
hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu

The Six Kingdoms by Veritas Prep
www.veritasprep.com