Excessive accumulations of dead plants can also bind up much of the nutrient capital of ecosystems, so that not enough is recycled for use by living plants, and ecosystem productivity becomes constrained by nutrient limitations. A similar effect can be caused to living plants by dead plant biomass. Large quantities of dead animal biomass can represent a indirect health hazard to living animals, by enhancing the survival of pathogens. Scavengers provide a very important ecological service, because they help to rapidly reduce dead animals and plants to simpler constituents, and thereby prevent an excessive accumulation of dead biomass. Scavengers are part of the detrital food web of ecosystems. Examples of such species in North America are black bear ( Ursus americanus ), grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos ), and wolverine ( Gulo gulo ). Some mammals are opportunistic scavengers, eating dead animals when they can find them. The turkey vulture ( Cathartes aura ) of the Americas is one of the only bird species that has a sense of smell, which is utilized to find carrion. Some birds are specialized as scavengers, most notably the New World vultures (family Cathartidae) and Old World vultures (family Accipitri-dae). Many marine crustaceans are important scavengers, including most species of crabs and gammarids. Invertebrates are the most abundant scavengers in terrestrial ecosystems, especially earthworms and insects such as beetles, flies, and ants. However, scavengers are important in the initial stages of biomass decomposition and recycling. Valuable ecological service of recycling of dead biomass is not just performed by scavengers -other detritivores such as bacteria, and fungi are also important, and in fact are largely responsible for the final stages of the decomposition and humification process. Large quantities of dead animal biomass can represent an indirect health hazard to living animals, by enhancing the survival of pathogens. Some scavengers specialize on feeding upon dead animals, or carrion, while others feed more generally on dead plants and animals.
Explore a few different omnivore animals.A scavenger is an animal that seeks out and feeds upon dead and/or decaying organic matter. Everybody runs when they see a bear because we know they love meat in addition to berries. Now, we have a class of omnivores that should come as no surprise. woodpeckers - like nuts, seeds, berries, and insects.starlings - enjoy eating insects, seeds and fruit.seagulls - eat a range of grains, berries and small mammals.rooks - dine on plants, insects and spiders.robins - include worms, insects and fruit in their diet.rheas - enjoy a diet of leaves, clovers, seeds, frogs, and snakes.ostriches - eat roots, seeds, lizards, snakes, and rodents.orioles - love fruit, nectar and insects.keas - gobble up plants, beetles and small animals (rabbits).hummingbirds - eat flowers, sap, insects, and spiders.emus - dine on acacia seeds, grass and caterpillars.
corvids (crow family) - enjoy insects, fruits and meats.chickens - feast on corn, wheat, barley, and insects.cassowaries - eat fruit along with small animals.Let's take a look at these birds and their diets. When you consider birds, you might only think of them as being herbivorous, or eating plants and seeds.
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