Decomposers

While on a safari in South Africa, you see some vultures pulling meat off the bones of a large, dead mammal. Which of the following observations accurately describes how vultures are different from fungi?

• Vultures produce juices to digest dead material.

• Vultures break down large food pieces into small food pieces.

• Fungi leave behind waste while breaking down food.

• Vultures break down tiny food pieces into soil.

Imagine going to an apple orchard and seeing fallen apples. These apples will decompose and some substances from the decomposing apples will return to the apple trees. Which of the following decomposer wastes can apple trees in this forest use?

• Carbon Dioxide

• oxygen

• methane

• nutrients

While hiking through a nearby forest, you find some fungi growing on a tree stump. What role does the fungi play in this forest ecosystem?

• It breaks down dead tree matter.

• It eats living organisms.

• It uses sunlight to produce energy for the tree.

• It produces oxygen that other forest organisms use to survive.

Tags

NGSS.5-LS2-1

What is the role of a decomposer in an ecosystem?

• capture the energy of sunlight

• produce energy for plants and animals

• break down dead organisms and their wastes

• transport nutrients and other materials among organisms

Which organisms are examples of decomposers?

• rabbits

• lion

• fungi

• trees

Bacteria have no way to store excess food, so in order to stay active, they have to

• store excess food as sugar as animals do

• stay close to fungi and get energy from them

• remain in sunny areas so they can make their own food

• live in places where they can be surrounded by food sources

When a decomposer dies, its once-living materials become waste. These wastes are then

• converted into energy that can be used

• transformed into bacteria

• further decomposed by producers and consumers

• released into the air, soil, and water of an ecosystem

Compost takes advantage of natural processes to

• increase the temperature on earth

• help return matter to the ecosystem

• provide animals with clean drinking water

• release harmful metals into the environment