User talk:24.80.54.10/sandbox

Heterotrophs

“Heterotrophs” is a start-class article that offers introductory understanding on energy sources, ecological contributions, and classifications without incorporating in-depth details that are relevant to such topic. The lead explains the definition of a heterotroph while drawing the attention of readers with well referenced facts. However, as the introduction continues, paragraphs become littered with information that fails to connect or be expanded in later contents. For example, the last paragraph on detritivores is unnecessary as it did not give equal opportunity for other types of heterotrophs such as herbivores or carnivores to be mentioned. As the article continues onto “Types”, phrases such as “apparently do not …” suggests uncertainty and leaves questions about the article’s reliability. It’s also noted that information in this section isn’t sufficiently labeled with citations since it was difficult to navigate the source of knowledge on Rhodospirillaceae. Others such as the Merriam-Webster citation is also problematic where the link leads to an unfound vocabulary. The last section on ecology largely focuses on the contributions of chemoorganoheterotrophs and fails to include information on photoorganoheterotrophs which also holds great importance on the cycling of compounds and ecological relationships. Overall, the article is minimal, scattered and poorly referenced. More information on energy flow and food chains could be incorporated to illustrate the importance of heterotrophs in the ecosystem; while including cellular processes of energy production will demonstrate its differences in cellular machinery comparing to autotrophs. An additional section on the history of heterotrophs will also shine light on its evolutionary importance.

Kelly Fu (talk) 23:21, 17 September 2017 (UTC)