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what is a decomposer?

Decomposers (or saprotrophs) are organisms that consume dead organisms, and, in doing so, carry out the natural process of decomposition. Like herbivores and predators, decomposers are heterotrophic, meaning that they use organic substrates to get their energy, carbon and nutrients for growth and development. Decomposers use deceased organisms and non-living organic compounds as their food source. The primary decomposers are bacteria and fungi.
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Decomposers and scavengers break down dead plants and animals. They also break down the waste (poop) of other organisms. Decomposers are very important for any ecosystem. If they weren't in the ecosystem, the plants would not get essential nutrients, and dead matter and waste would pile up.
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In biology, any organism that breaks down dead matter. Decomposers play a vital role in the ecosystem by freeing important chemical substances, such as nitrogen compounds, locked up in dead organisms or excrement. They feed on some of the released organic matter, but leave the rest to filter back into the soil as dissolved nutrients, or pass in gas form into the atmosphere, for example as nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
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