'Decomposers' (also called reducers) are organisms (often fungi or bacteria) that break down organic materials to gain nutrients and energy. Decomposition is a natural process that will happen by default, but decomposers accelerate the process. The role that decomposers perform in an ecosystem is extremely important. Without them, organic matter would be piled up on our grounds from the past years. Also, some plants would not receive the required nutrients and might die. When an organism dies, it leaves behind nutrients that are locked tightly together. A scavenger may eat the carcass, but its feces still contains a considerable amount of unused energy and nutrients. Decomposers such as fungi will later induce further breakdown. This last step releases raw nutrients (such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium) in a form usable to plants, which quickly incorporate the chemicals into their own cells. This process greatly increases the nutrient-load of an ecosystem, in turn allowing for greater biodiversity. Divisions Chytridiomycota Deuteromycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Fungus growing on a tree in Borneo A fungus (plural fungi) is a eukaryotic organism that digests its food externally and absorbs the nutrient molecules into its cells. ... Subgroups Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... Organic material or organic matter is informally used to denote a material that originated as a living organism; most such materials contain carbon and are capable of decay. ... // Nutrients and the body A nutrient is any element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organisms metabolism, growth, or other functioning. ... Rotting fruit Decomposition is a phenomenon common in the sciences of biology and chemistry. ... In ecology, an ecosystem is a combination of all the living and non-living elements of an area. ... Harvestman eating the tail of a five-lined skink The word scavenger, in zoology, refers to animals that consume already dead organic life-forms. ... Rabbit feces are usually 8-10 mm in diameter, dry to the touch, and look similar to a raisin. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... General Name, Symbol, Number magnesium, Mg, 12 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 24. ... Rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity or biological diversity is the diversity of life. ...

See also

• Scavenger
• Detritivore
• Saprotroph