A new organism is introduced into a ecosystem. it gets its nutrients from a dead tree. can this organism be described as a scavenger or decomposer

I would think a dead tree was already decomposed (at least parts of it are decomposed) so this organism must be a scavenger.

To determine whether the organism can be described as a scavenger or a decomposer, we need to understand the roles of these two terms in an ecosystem.

A scavenger is an organism that feeds on dead plants or animals. It typically consumes the carcasses of larger organisms that it did not directly kill. Scavengers play an important role in recycling nutrients and breaking down organic matter, but they do not actively break down dead organisms into smaller components.

On the other hand, a decomposer is an organism that breaks down dead plant matter or animal remains into simpler organic materials, such as detritus. These organisms break down dead matter through the process of decomposition, which includes the breaking down of complex molecules into smaller organic compounds.

In the scenario you described, where the organism gets its nutrients from a dead tree, it is actively extracting nutrients from the dead plant material, indicating that it is involved in the decomposition process. Therefore, this organism can be more accurately described as a decomposer rather than a scavenger. It is breaking down the dead tree into simpler organic materials and recycling the nutrients back into the ecosystem.