When you finish a carton of milk or a can of soda, what do you do with the containers? That’s right: you recycle them so they can be cleaned and repurposed as different products. Nature has its very own mighty method of recycling—decomposers. What are decomposers, you ask? Come along and let’s explore these important links in our food chain!
Key takeaways
Learn that decomposers are organisms that get their energy from breaking down dead plant and animal matter and are the final link in the food chain
Understand how decomposers use waste and release nutrients back into the environment
Learn about the three types of decomposers: fungi, bacteria and invertebrates
Understand that decomposers are present in all habitats
Standards addressed
NGSS-5-LS2-1
Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.