Menu Close

Is a sea star a producer consumer or decomposer?

Is a sea star a producer consumer or decomposer?

The starfish is one of the decomposers of the Great Barrier Reef. It eats dead animals and turns it back into the earth.

What kind of consumer is a sea star?

tertiary consumer
A starfish is a tertiary consumer in the ocean ecosystem.

Are sea stars primary consumers?

Primary Consumers: The second trophic level in coral reef ecosystems are primary consumers such as zooplankton, coral polyps, sponges, mollusks, sea urchins, starfish and smaller fish.

What are the decomposers of the sea?

Other sea creatures classified as decomposers include crustaceans and mollusks, bacteria, fungi, sea cucumbers, starfish, sea urchins, and other kinds of marine worms.

Is a starfish a herbivore?

Sea stars are mostly carnivorous and prey on mollusks—including clams, mussels and oysters—which they pry open with their suction-cupped feet. Many different animals eat sea stars, including fish, sea turtles, snails, crabs, shrimp, otters, birds and even other sea stars.

What are ocean decomposers?

What are 5 ocean decomposers?

Overall, the main decomposer organisms in marine ecosystems are bacteria. Other important decomposers are fungi, marine worms, echinoderms, crustaceans and mollusks. In the colder ocean waters, only bacteria and fungi do the decomposing because the other creatures cannot survive in the extreme conditions.

How do decomposers work in the ocean?

Decomposers, which include bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms, are the other major group in the food web. They feed on the remains of all aquatic organisms and in so doing break down or decay organic matter, returning it to an inorganic state.

What does a decomposer do in the ocean?

Ocean decomposers have a variety of methods for gathering dead material to feed on. Echinoderms like sea urchins, sea stars and sea cucumbers hunt and eat live food, but they also move around and consume decaying organic matter that covers rocks and other surfaces.

What kind of food does a sea star eat?

Other important decomposers are fungi, marine worms, echinoderms, crustaceans and mollusks. Echinoderms like sea urchins, sea stars and sea cucumbers hunt and eat live food, but they also move around and consume decaying organic matter that covers rocks and other surfaces.

Which is an echinoderm decomposer in the ocean?

Echinoderm decomposers in the ocean include the granulated sea star, Choriaster granulatus which cleans up dead organic matter by moving along rocks and other stationary surfaces.