Which of the following is primarily responsible for limiting the number of trophic levels in most ecosystems? Energy transfer between trophic levels is usually less than 20 percent efficient. Nutrient cycling rates tend to be limited by decomposition. Many primary and higher-order consumers are opportunistic feeders. Decomposers compete with higher-order consumers for nutrients and energy.

from my research i have to the conclusion that decomposers, such as fungi, bacteria and invertebrates, play a critical role in nutrient cycling and without them the earth's ecosystem may not support life as we know it. elements such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus exist in limited amounts on earth, although huge amounts of carbon are being released into the atmosphere from underground sources now by humans. it is still extremely important that other nutrients be retained by the process of re-use. decomposers are organisms that are able to chemically break down dead material and make these elements available for use by other organisms. without this breakdown of dead material, dead bodies would pile up. so decomposers also play a role in clean up also. without them, life might not continue as we know it and dead material would overwhelm the earth.