What kinds of organisms obtain nutrients by breaking down dead and decaying plants and animals?

Question

Lydia Adams · Accepted Answer

Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by consuming dead animal and plant materials. Decomposers and detrivores complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers.

An organism known as a scavenger is one that primarily feeds on decomposing biomass, such as meat or decaying plant matter; their prey typically consists of animals that have either perished naturally or have been killed by another carnivore. Decomposers consume organic materials that have been broken down into smaller pieces by scavengers, and decomposers consume dead material and convert it into chemical components. In order to maintain the ecosystem free of dead animals (carrion) and plant materials, scavengers, decomposers, and detrivores play a crucial role in the food web. They break down organic materials and recycle them back into the ecosystem as nutrients.

Jeremiah Allen · Answer

undefined Decomposers, such as fungi and bacteria, obtain nutrients by breaking down dead and decaying plants and animals.