The Saprotroph reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Saprotroph

Saprotroph (also 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.

They include most fungi (the rest being parasites), many bacteria and protozoa; animals such as dung beetles and vultures; and a few unusual plants, including several orchids.

Saprotrophs cannot make food for themselves, so they are a type of heterotroph. They are useful scavengers, and in sewage farms and refuse dumps break down organic matter into nutrients easily assimilable by green plants.

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