feast for decomposers Flashcards
what are decomposers?
Decomposers are fungi, bacteria, worms, and other small organisms that specialize in breaking down dead matter.
what can be used for energy or growth?
Bones, droppings, and other dead matter may not seem like food, but they contain materials that decomposers can use for energy and growth
what else do decomposers make and why is it good?
Decomposers don’t just release carbon from dead matter, they also make other materials available to an ecosystem, such as nitrogen. Nitrogen is a critical nutrient for plant growth.
without decomposers what will happen?
carbon would get trapped in the dead matter.
without worms and their casts what wouldnt we have?
Without worms (and their poop, called “casts”), we would not have the rich, fertile soil needed to grow the food we eat.
what do worms do?
Worms take large pieces of things like dead leaves, manure, and even cardboard, pull them below the surface of the soil, shred them, and digest them until they are small enough for bacteria to consume
how much casts can an earthworm produce up too?
One earthworm can produce about 10 pounds of casts in one year
what do different decomposers have when an animal dies?
Different decomposers have different jobs and eat different types of dead matter
what things so decomposing insects eat?
Decomposing insects eat all kinds of dead matter: dead plants, animal carcasses, and animal droppings
what do they do when they decompose?
As they eat, they shred dead matter into smaller pieces, allowing tiny decomposers like bacteria to break the dead matter down even more.
what has to do with the timing of the insects?
In fact, the timing of each insect appearing after the death of an organism is so predictable that scientists use the presence of certain insects to tell them how long an organism has been dead.
how much bacteria is in the soil?
Many billions of tiny bacteria live in the soil. These microscopic decomposers work all the time to break down dead matter
what happens after the bigger decomposers break down the matter?
After worms and other bigger decomposers have broken dead matter down into smaller pieces, soil bacteria break down the dead matter even further.
what do many kinds of bacteria preform?
Many kinds of bacteria perform cellular respiration, taking the carbon trapped in dead matter and putting it back into the ecosystem as carbon dioxide.
what happens with bacteria and temperature?
Some are very sensitive to changes in temperature and chemical composition of soil, while others are very hardy and can handle severe heat and cold
where is fungi hidden?
Fungus is hidden everywhere in the soil, and sometimes it grows upward to form mushrooms in all colors and shapes
what is soil fungi good at doing?
Soil fungus is good at decomposing tough dead matter, like dead leaves and pieces of wood, and getting the energy storage molecules that were trapped inside
how are soil fungi helpful?
Soil fungi are not plants, but they are often helpful to plants. Some fungi in the soil help protect the roots of plants. They grow around roots, helping the plant get nutrients from a larger area of the soil and hiding the roots from pests.
what do the fungi look like?
Some look a lot like the mushrooms you eat, and some look like orange fans or black bubbles.
what do the wood decay fungi help decompose?
These are wood-decay fungi, which help decompose things like fallen branches and even whole trees.
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what can only wood decay organisms do?
Wood-decay fungi are the only organisms that have evolved to decompose lignin, a substance found in wood
what are the wood decay fungi?
fungi are the main decomposers in forest ecosystems, where there are lots of large pieces of wood to break down
what does mold grow?
it grows blue and white fuzz
what is mold?
Mold is a kind of fungus that helps decompose things like fruit and bread, using the energy storage molecules trapped inside to get energy through the process of cellular respiration.
what can happen if a fruit falls to the ground?
When a peach falls to the ground, mold grows quickly, breaking the fruit down. This allows the fruit to provide nutrients for other organisms in the soil, which break it down further into nutrients for new plants to use
what are aquatic bacteria?
Aquatic bacteria are one of the many kinds of decomposers that help break down the body of a whale that dies in the ocean
what happens when a whale gets decomposed?
After sharks and other fish eat the large chunks of flesh, and smaller animals like marine worms eat the bits of meat that are left over, bacteria begin to feed off the fat left in the whale’s bones. These bacteria use the esm in the whales body to relase energy
what can the aquatic bacteria help?
The bacteria also provide nourishment for clams, sea snails, and other animals
how long will it usually take to decompose a whales body?
This can go on for decades, with the carcass of one whale providing decomposers with food for 80 years
