What is a producer in ecology?

Producers are organisms that make their own energy. Plants are producers because they make their own food using light, carbon dioxide and water through photosynthesis.

During photosynthesis, producers convert energy they've collected into plant sugars, which are broken down to release chemical energy. If light is not present, some producers change chemicals into energy through chemosynthesis. Producers make their own energy and provide energy for consumers that feed off them. These plants are present on almost the entire planet, including in the oceans, where the most common producers are algae. Producers are one of the three main plant groups in the food chain, the other being consumers and decomposers.