decomposer – organism that breaks down organic material or eats decaying material for its energy source

(Pronounced dee-kum-poh-zer)

To remember the meaning of decomposer, use the following mnemonic:

The demon composer (decomposer) only eats decaying material for energy. 

Decomposers are organisms that break down dead plant and animal material, as well as waste products, into simpler substances making nutrients available to primary producers. Decomposers include bacteria and fungi such as mushrooms and moulds, which feed on dead organic matter through a process called decomposition. Decomposers are essential to ecosystems because they recycle nutrients back into the soil, making them available for plants to absorb and use for growth. Without decomposers, dead material would accumulate and important nutrients like nitrogen and carbon would become locked up in dead organisms, preventing them from being reused by living things and beginning the cycle of the food chain.