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decomposer

Did you mean: decomposer, Decomposer (2006 Album by The Matches)

 
Dictionary: de·com·pos·er   (dē'kəm-pō'zər) pronunciation
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n.

An organism, often a bacterium or fungus, that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, thus making organic nutrients available to the ecosystem.


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Geography Dictionary: decomposers
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Simple organisms which obtain their nutrients from dead plant or animal material by breaking it down into basic chemical compounds. A decomposer chain can run from a relatively large organism, such as a fungus, to smaller organisms such as bacteria. Decomposers play a major part in the maintenance of nutrient cycles.

Wikipedia: Decomposer
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
For the Matches album of the same name, see Decomposer (album).
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 This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)
The fungi on this tree are decomposers

Decomposers (or saprotrophs) are organisms that eat the dead or decaying organisms, and in doing so carry out the natural process of decomposition. Like herbivores and predators, decomposers are heterotrophic, meaning that they use organic substrates to get their energy, carbon and nutrients for growth and development. Decomposers use deceased organisms and non-living organic compounds as their food source. The primary decomposers are bacteria and fungi.

Fungi

Fungi are the primary and most common of decomposers of litter in many ecosystems. Unlike bacteria, which are unicellular, most saprotrophic fungi grow as a branching network of hyphae. While bacteria are restricted to growing and feeding on the exposed surfaces of organic matter, fungi can use their hyphae to penetrate larger pieces of organic matter. Additionally, only fungi have evolved the enzymes necessary to decompose lignin, a chemically complex substance found in wood. These two factors make fungi the primary decomposers in forests, where litter has high concentrations of lignin and often occurs in large pieces.

References

  • Beare MH, Parmelee RW, Hendrix PF, Cheng W (1992) Microbial and faunal interactions and effects on litter nitrogen and decomposition in agroecosystems. Ecological Monographs 62: 569-591
  • Hunt HW, Coleman DC, Ingham ER, Ingham RE, Elliot ET, Moore JC, Rose SL, Reid CPP, Morley CR (1987) "The detrital food web in a shortgrass prairie". Biology and Fertility of Soils 3: 57-68
  • Smith TM, Smith RL (2006) Elements of Ecology. Sixth edition. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, CA.
  • Swift MJ, Heal OW, Anderson JM (1979) Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
v • d • e
Feeding behaviours
Carnivores
adult
reproductive
cannibalistic
Red-tailed hawk eating a California meadow vole
Herbivores
Others
Methods
Predation · Antipredator adaptation · Carnivorous plant · Carnivorous fungus · Carnivorous protist · Category:Eating behaviors

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Did you mean: decomposer, Decomposer (2006 Album by The Matches)


 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Decomposer".  Read more