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> If nothing decomposed, the earth would pile up kilometers-deep with the bodies of animals and plants Hem, not. Much more probably some animal would eat this
by pvaldes 6y ago
> If nothing decomposed, the earth would pile up kilometers-deep with the bodies of animals and plants
Hem, not. Much more probably some animal would eat this corpses. Not to mention that life beings are lets say between 60% to 99% water and dried corpses would not take so much space. It is a suggestive idea, but is also wrong.
- nanomonkey 6y agoYou may want to think about what you are saying. Eating is decomposition; inside of your gut are the same organisms that are in the soil breaking down the cell walls so that you and other animals can absorb a fraction of the available nutrients. This is especially true for ruminants, which have separate guts for fermenting cellulose.
- pvaldes 6y ago> You may want to think about what you are saying. Eating is decomposition Absolutely Not. Eating is much more sophisticated than decomposition. There is a microbial part... but also a mechanical pre-processing with teeth, cartilaginous spikes, muscles or even rocks, And cells evolved to produce strong acids (that could dissolve this same cells) And a complex enzymatic system in controlled environment and temperatures. Necessary to allow its correct function. And a net of sensors of satiety to avoid the stomach bursting, a gage reflex, a capture reflex, development of complex eyes and noses to hunt and identify food or poison, nerves... A complex absortion of nutrients and water, And compaction, dehydrating, filtration, classification, and release of useless stuff. Is much, much, more than just tiny organisms breaking things.