Saprobionts

Saprobionts, or saprobionts, "putrefactive" organisms that develop in places where organic residues of animal or plant origin accumulate. This concept encompasses both plant forms (saprophytes) and animals (saprozoa). In a broad sense, the concept of saprobionts approaches the concept of heterotrophs. In a narrower sense, it is usually applied in hydrobiology for aquatic organisms, to which it was first applied. In this latter sense, it includes about 1,000 representatives of aquatic flora and fauna that develop with varying content of organic substances in water and, in connection with this, are distributed into a saprobity system that forms the basis of biological water analysis (see Biological analysis). The saprobity of an aquatic organism is determined, on one hand, by its need for organic nutrition, and on the other, by its tolerance to various harmful influences that always accompany the decomposition of organic substances in polluted water (reduced oxygen content, accumulation of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and other products of decay and fermentation).