Look up: decomposer

1. 
   decomposer
   An organism that breaks down the tissue and/or structures of dead organisms.
   Found on http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gl
   
   
2. 
   Decomposer
   A heterotrophic organism that utilises dead organic matter as food, decomposing it into more simple substances.
   Found on http://www.pestmanagement.co.uk/lib/glos
   
   
3. 
   decomposer
   (Living things in their environment) an organism which eats dead organisms or animal droppings and breaks them down into simple materials.
   Found on http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesiz
   
   
4. 
   decomposer
   A plant, animal or micro-organism that feeds on the bodies of dead, rotting organisms and their waste and converts the matter back into nutrients that can be used by plants growing in the soil. Decomposers include fungi, mushrooms, bacteria, worms, and insects such as millipedes.
   Found on http://www.conservancy.co.uk/learn/wordl
   
   
5. 
   Decomposer
   `Decomposers` (or saprotrophs) are organisms that consume dead 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.
   Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposer
   
   
6. 
   decomposer
   (from the article `carbon cycle`) ...CO2 directly to the atmosphere as a by-product of their respiration. The carbon present in animal wastes and in the bodies of all organisms is ... ...hawk (tertiary consumer). Actually, in many cases the food chains of the ecosystem overlap and interconnect, forming what ecologists call a food ... ...
   Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/d/23
   
   
7. 
   Decomposer
   A type of detritivore. Decomposers play an important role in recycling organic matter back into inorganic nutrients in ecosystems. This recycling is done by decomposing complex organic matter and then coverting the less complex organic products into inorganic compounds and atoms. Much of the recycled inorganic nutrients are then consumed by produce...
   Found on http://www.physicalgeography.net/physgeo