Abstract: | The organism belonging to a biocenosis may be considered – no matter which is the function they perform in the ecosystem – as either autotrophic (primary producers) or heterotrophic (consumers and decomposers) ones. The organisms known as developing direct relations with the environment – i.e., plants, fungi, microorganisms, protozoa and metazoa in the larvar stage – are influenced and, equally, do influence the environment in a redox way.
More exactly, the autotrophic organisms are stimulated by the oxidating media and inhibited by the reducing ones, while the heterotrophes, on the contrary, are stimulated by the reducing media and inhibited by the oxidating ones. By their activity, the autotrophes impart to the medium a reducing character, while the heterotrophes – an oxidating one.
It gres without saying that, under such circumstances, the two categories of organisms could not coexist in the absence of an alternative taking over of the biocenosis’ “hegemony”. In this respect, Figure 1 plots graphically, for each category, the position of the optimum and, respectively, the inhibition zone. |