decomposer
- noun
- /ˌdiːkəmˈpoʊzər/
- Specialized
:
descomponedor
- The decomposition was aided by decomposers who used the glucose and carbohydrates from Grandma Johnson and released carbon through cellular respiration in the form of CO2.
- producers and decomposers
- consumers and decomposers
- decomposers release carbon
There are predators, prey, and decomposers in this system, just as there are Jaguar, deer, or earthworms in a rainforest.
- There are predators, prey, and decomposers in this system, just as there are Jaguar, deer, or earthworms in a rainforest.
Examples
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Healthy soils provide water absorption, groundwater recharge, food for plants, habitat for decomposers, and sequester carbon.
Blog text (14) -
In both cases, one could find the three major directions of evolution and ecological functions: producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Academic text (2012) -
Some decomposers even help clean water.
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The results suggest that most students understood the concept of decomposers as organisms, but not all had a complete understanding of the processes of decomposition.
Academic text (2003) -
The organisms that transform energy in nature are the decomposers, the fungi, the bacteria.
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Dung beetles are perhaps the archetypal example of these ecologically important decomposers.
Blog text (5) -
Fungi are perhaps best known for their role as decomposers, dominating the decomposition of plant parts, and particularly of lignified cellulose.
Academic text (2008) -
Responses indicated that nearly all students identified and explained the role of decomposers accurately, yet only 62 percent explained further that CO2 left decomposers via the process of respiration (Figure 2).
Academic text (2003) -
According to Whittaker, a better classification would recognize three broad kingdoms based on ecological trophic levels: producers (plants), consumers (animals), and decomposers (fungi and bacteria).
Academic text (2012) -
Decomposers like bacteria and fungi play a vital role in recycling nutrients back into the soil.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A living thing, often a fungus, that eats dead plants or animals
A living thing that eats dead plants or animals
A plant, fungus, or animal that feeds on dead plants and animals
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Decomposer comes from the parts de- meaning 'remove' or 'down' and compose meaning 'to put together', so it means 'something that takes things apart'. In nature, a decomposer like a mushroom or earthworm breaks dead plants and animals into simple parts and returns their nutrients to the soil.