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The terms detritivore and decomposer are often used interchangeably, but they describe different organisms. Detritivores are usually arthropods and help in the process of remineralization. Detritivores perform the first stage of remineralization, by fragmenting the dead plant matter, allowing decomposers to perform the second stage of ...
In water ecosystems, relatively little waste collects on the water bed, and so the progress of decomposition in water takes a more important role. Investigating the level of inorganic salts in sea ecosystems shows that unless there is an especially large supply, the quantity increases from winter to spring—but is normally extremely low in summer.
Nepidae is a family of exclusively aquatic Heteropteran insects in the order Hemiptera. [1] They are commonly called water scorpions for their superficial resemblance to scorpions, due to their raptorial forelegs and the presence of a long slender process at the posterior end of the abdomen, resembling a tail. [2]
Amphipoda (/ æ m ˈ f ɪ p ə d ə /) is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods (/ ˈ æ m f ɪ p ɒ d z /) range in size from 1 to 340 millimetres (0.039 to 13 in) and are mostly detritivores or scavengers.
In both marine and freshwater environments, algae – particularly green algae and diatoms – make up the dominant component of surface growth communities. Small crustaceans, rotifers, and protozoans are also commonly found in fresh water and the sea, but insect larvae, oligochaetes and tardigrades are peculiar to freshwater aufwuchs faunas.
Carrion insects are insects associated with decomposing remains. The processes of decomposition begin within a few minutes of death. [ 1 ] Decomposing remains offer a temporary, changing site of concentrated resources which are exploited by a wide range of organisms, of which arthropods are often the first to arrive and the predominant ...
Prime decomposers are bacteria or fungi, though larger scavengers also play an important role in decomposition if the body is accessible to insects, mites and other animals. Additionally, [3] soil animals are considered key regulators of decomposition at local scales but their role at larger scales is unresolved.
They fill essential roles as decomposers and food sources for lower trophic levels, and are necessary to drive processes within larger organisms. Populations of microfauna can reach up to ~10 7 (~10,000,000) individuals per g −1 (0.1g, or 1/10th of a gram) and are very common in plant litter, surface soils, and water films. [3]