AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Scavengers and decomposers get their energy by eating dead plants or animals. Rotting food (or food that’s gone ‘bad’) doesn’t look or smell great but it contains a wealth of nutrients, including carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous.

Detailed explanation-2: -Decomposers play a critical role in the flow of energy through an ecosystem. They break apart dead organisms into simpler inorganic materials, making nutrients available to primary producers.

Detailed explanation-3: -Examples of decomposers are fungi and bacteria that obtain their nutrients from a dead plant or animal material. They break down the cells of dead organisms into simpler substances, which become organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.

Detailed explanation-4: -A consumer is an animal that gets its energy by eating plants or other animals. Decomposer. A decomposer is a living thing that feeds on and breaks down dead and decaying plants and animals. Some examples of decomposers include earthworms and bacteria.