EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -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-2: -Decomposers and scavengers break down dead plants and animals. They also break down the waste (poop) of other organisms. Decomposers are very important for any ecosystem. If they weren’t in the ecosystem, the plants would not get essential nutrients, and dead matter and waste would pile up.

Detailed explanation-3: -Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms; they carry out decomposition, a process possible by only certain kingdoms, such as fungi.

Detailed explanation-4: -Decomposers act on the dead matter, e.g. by secreting the enzymes and digesting the matter externally. Saprotrophs contribute to the decomposition process by extracellular digestion, i.e., they digest dead matter externally by secreting enzymes and then absorbing the nutrients.

Detailed explanation-5: -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.