Everything about Saprotroph totally explained
A
saprotroph (or
saprobe) is an organism that obtains its nutrients from non-living
organic matter, usually dead and decaying plant or animal matter, by absorbing soluble organic compounds. Since saprotrophs consume external food sources rather than make their own food, they're considered a type of
heterotroph.
Many species of
fungi,
bacteria, and
protista are saprotrophs. Animal
scavengers, such as
dung beetles and
vultures, are also sometimes referred to as saprotrophs, but are more commonly called
saprophages. In
food webs, saprotrophs generally play the role of
decomposers. Saprotrophs are often eaten by
consumers and therefore commonly play important roles as recyclers in
ecosystem energy flow and
biogeochemical cycles.
Saprophyte is an older term that's now considered obsolete. The suffix
-phyte means "plant". However, there are no truly saprotrophic organisms that are
embryophytes, and fungi and bacteria are no longer placed in the
Plant Kingdom. Plants that were once considered saprophytes, such as non-photosynthetic
orchids and
monotropes, are now known to be parasites on fungi. These species are termed
myco-heterotrophs.
Further Information
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