What kinds of organisms obtain nutrients by breaking down dead and decaying plants and animals?
1 Answer
Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by consuming dead animal and plant materials. Decomposers and detrivores complete this process, by consuming the remains left by scavengers.
Explanation:
A scavenger is an organism that mostly consumes decaying biomass, such as meat or rotting plant material. They usually consume animals that have either died of natural causes or been killed by another carnivore.
Scavengers help breakdown or reduce organic materials into smaller pieces. These are then eaten by decomposers. Decomposers eat dead material and break them down into chemical parts.
Scavengers, decomposers and detrivores play an important role in the food web. They keep the ecosystem free of dead animals (carrion) and plant materials. They break down organic materials and recycle it into the ecosystem as nutrients.
