Question

In the forest ecosystem, yeasts, molds, and mushrooms are grouped as

• A. Producer
• B. Consumer
• C. Secondary consumer
• D. Decomposer

Answer 1

Answer: (D)

The decomposers are those living organisms that decompose the dead body of producers, consumers and are known as reducers or transformers or osmotrophs. These are heterotrophic organisms that break up the dead bodies of plants and their waste products. They include fungi like yeasts, molds, and mushrooms and certain bacteria like Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens etc. The enzymes secreted by these organisms digest the dead organisms and the debris into smaller bits or molecules. These molecules are absorbed by the reducers. After taking energy, the reducers release molecules to the environment as a chemical to be used again by the producers.