The living organisms in a certain area form the biotic community.  Through the food chain, animals obtain the energy they require to survive and pass on life.

Three types of living organisms inhabit a biotic community.

Producers (or autotrophs) include plants and bacteria that survive through converting energy into food.

Consumers (or heterotrophs) eat plants and animals to survive.  Types of consumers include herbivores (known as primary consumers), which eat only plants, carnivores (known as secondary consumers), which eat other animals, and omnivores, which eat both plants and animals.

A subcategory of consumers is detrivores, or detritus feeders.  These creatures eat plants and animals that are already dead. Their diet consists of dead organisms, as well as organic waste.  Examples include crabs, vultures, and termites.

The final type of living organism is decomposers.  They change plants that have died into nutrients that allow them to survive.  Animals that live in the water or soil often feed off dead decomposers.