A bottom feeder is an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water. Biologists often use the terms benthos —particularly for invertebrates such as shellfish , crabs , crayfish , sea anemones , starfish , snails , bristleworms and sea cucumbers —and benthivore or benthivorous , for fish and invertebrates that feed on material from the bottom. However the term benthos includes all aquatic life that lives on or near the bottom, which means it also includes non-animals, such as plants and algae. Biologists also use specific terms that refer to bottom feeding fish, such as demersal fish , groundfish , benthic fish and benthopelagic fish . Examples of bottom feeding fish species groups are flatfish ( halibut , flounder , plaice , sole ), eels , cod , haddock , bass , grouper , carp , bream ( snapper ) and some species of catfish and sharks .
19-419: Some bottom feeders are detritivores , taking advantage of organic materials that sink down through bodies of water to the bottom. In ocean environments, this downward drift of detritus is known as marine snow . Bottom feeders may gather detritus manually, as some crab species do; or filter microparticles out of the water using suspension feeding . This biotic decomposition and recycling of organic matter
38-405: A crucial role in benthic ecosystems, forming essential food chains and participating in the nitrogen cycle . Detritivores and decomposers that reside in the desert live in burrows underground to avoid the hot surface since underground conditions provide favorable living conditions for them. Detritivores are the main organisms in clearing plant litter and recycling nutrients in the desert. Due to
57-426: A tank. Detritivore Detritivores (also known as detrivores , detritophages , detritus feeders or detritus eaters ) are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces ). There are many kinds of invertebrates , vertebrates , and plants that carry out coprophagy . By doing so, all these detritivores contribute to decomposition and
76-443: Is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter . It occurs in saprotrophs , and is most often associated with fungi (e.g. Mucor ) and with soil bacteria . Saprotrophic microscopic fungi are sometimes called saprobes . Saprotrophic plants or bacterial flora are called saprophytes ( sapro- 'rotten material' + -phyte 'plant'), although it
95-437: Is critical for the health of many aquatic environments as it helps maintain various biogeochemical cycles . In 2014, it was reported that deep sea bottom feeders absorb carbon dioxide by eating creatures such as jellyfish and cephalopods , allowing the greenhouse gas to be retained at the sea floor rather than be released back into the atmosphere. Other bottom feeders graze on living aquatic plants and macroalgae , as
114-737: Is now believed that all plants previously thought to be saprotrophic are in fact parasites of microscopic fungi or of other plants . In fungi, the saprotrophic process is most often facilitated through the active transport of such materials through endocytosis within the internal mycelium and its constituent hyphae . Various word roots relating to decayed matter ( detritus , sapro- , lyso- ), to eating and nutrition ( -vore , -phage , -troph ), and to plants or life forms ( -phyte , -obe ) produce various terms, such as detritivore , detritophage, saprotroph, saprophyte , saprophage, and saprobe; their meanings overlap, although technical distinctions (based on physiologic mechanisms) narrow
133-405: Is perceived that they will clean the algae that grows in the tank. Generally, they are only useful for consuming the extra (fresh) food left by overfed or clumsy livestock; the added biomass of additional organisms means that the aquarium will likely be more dirty. Some specialized bottom feeders are more specifically sold as "algae eaters" to increase the amount of free oxygen and aesthetic appeal of
152-443: Is termed an "inferior" mouth, which means that the mouth is pointed downwards; this is beneficial as their food is often going to be below them in the substrate. Those bottom feeders with upward-pointing mouths, such as stargazers , tend to seize swimming prey. Some flatfish such as halibut actually have a "migrating" eye that moves to the upward-facing side of the fish as it ages. In the aquarium , bottom feeders are popular as it
171-658: Is the case in some sea urchin species. Lastly, some bottom feeders are carnivorous and specialize in either hunting other benthic animals, or scavenging from bodies killed by other predators. Some bottom feeding predators use the floor terrain as cover to ambush their prey . One common method is the animal using body movements to stir up sand and conceal itself with sediment, a tactic used by many species of flatfish ; or simply hide inside burrows or around other existing covers, such as many species of octopus and mantis shrimps , before suddenly emerging from cover to catch unsuspecting prey with fast strikes. Others burrow deep into
190-477: The nutrient cycles . Detritivores should be distinguished from other decomposers , such as many species of bacteria , fungi and protists , which are unable to ingest discrete lumps of matter. Instead, these other decomposers live by absorbing and metabolizing on a molecular scale ( saprotrophic nutrition ). The terms detritivore and decomposer are often used interchangeably, but they describe different organisms. Detritivores are usually arthropods and help in
209-440: The senses . For example, biologists can make usage distinctions based on macroscopic swallowing of detritus (as in earthworms ) versus microscopic lysis of detritus (as with mushrooms ). As matter decomposes within a medium in which a saprotroph is residing, the saprotroph breaks such matter down into its composites. These products are re-absorbed into the hypha through the cell wall by endocytosis and passed on throughout
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#1732780559555228-426: The capacity to digest lignin , and so large deposits of dead plant tissue accumulated during this period, later becoming the fossil fuels . By feeding on sediments directly to extract the organic component, some detritivores incidentally concentrate toxic pollutants . Saprotrophic nutrition Saprotrophic nutrition / s æ p r ə ˈ t r ɒ f ɪ k , - p r oʊ -/ or lysotrophic nutrition
247-431: The family Terebellidae . Detritivores can be classified into more specific groups based on their size and biomes. Macrodetritivores are larger organisms such as millipedes, springtails, and woodlouse, while microdetritivores are smaller organisms such as bacteria. Scavengers are not typically thought to be detritivores, as they generally eat large quantities of organic matter, but both detritivores and scavengers are
266-488: The floor and hunt with most of the body remaining buried, as in the case of oceanic bobbit worms . In darker deep waters, some bottom predators uses aggressive mimicry and bioluminescence to visually lure and ambush prey, as in the case of anglerfish . In fish, most bottom feeders exhibit a flat ventral region so as to more easily rest their body on the substrate. The exception may be the flatfish, which are laterally depressed but lie on their sides. Also, many exhibit what
285-470: The limited vegetation available in the desert, desert detritivores adapted and evolved ways to feed in the extreme conditions of the desert. Detritivore feeding behaviour is affected by rainfall; moist soil increases detritivore feeding and excretion. Fungi, acting as decomposers, are important in today's terrestrial environment. During the Carboniferous period , fungi and bacteria had yet to evolve
304-527: The mycelium complex. This facilitates the passage of such materials throughout the organism and allows for growth and, if necessary, repair. In order for a saprotrophic organism to facilitate optimal growth and repair, favourable conditions and nutrients must be present. Optimal conditions refers to several conditions which optimise the growth of saprotrophic organisms, such as; The majority of nutrients taken in by such organisms must be able to provide carbon, proteins, vitamins and, in some cases, ions . Due to
323-912: 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 remineralization. Plant tissues are made up of resilient molecules (e.g. cellulose , lignin , xylan ) that decay at a much lower rate than other organic molecules. The activity of detritivores is the reason why we do not see an accumulation of plant litter in nature. Detritivores are an important aspect of many ecosystems . They can live on any type of soil with an organic component, including marine ecosystems , where they are termed interchangeably with bottom feeders . Typical detritivorous animals include millipedes , springtails , woodlice , dung flies , slugs , many terrestrial worms , sea stars , sea cucumbers , fiddler crabs , and some sedentary marine Polychaetes such as worms of
342-485: The same type of cases of consumer-resource systems . The consumption of wood, whether alive or dead, is known as xylophagy . The activity of animals feeding only on dead wood is called sapro -xylophagy and those animals, sapro-xylophagous. Detritivores play an important role as recyclers in the ecosystem's energy flow and biogeochemical cycles . Alongside decomposers, they reintroduce vital elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and potassium back into
361-416: The soil, allowing plants to take in these elements and use them for growth. They shred the dead plant matter which releases the trapped nutrients in the plant tissues. An abundance of detritivores in the soil allows the ecosystem to efficiently recycle nutrients. Many detritivores live in mature woodland , though the term can be applied to certain bottom-feeders in wet environments . These organisms play
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