detritus

Plums and Custard Fungus tricholomopsis rutilans showing mature and young fruting bodies.  This fungi is distinctive in its purple mottling on a cream background.

Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus with nettles, log pile, fungi, and butterfly. Illustration from The Hidden Universe: Adventures in Biodiversity by Alexandre Antonelli

Caddis fly Trichoptera larvae in pebble case underwater on sandy substrate

Lichen fruiting bodies study examining the different means of reproduction visible under the microscope shown by different species of lichens

View of a head water stream with dipper, wagtail, waterfall and damselflies then view of a river with a heron fishing from a shingle bank, sand marten flying low, and dragonfly and beetles at home amongst driftwood; the river meanders on to a wetland meadow delta with grazing herds and established aquatic plant communities flanking […]

Salt marsh landscape showing mud and a cross section of the snails and invertebrates who live here, wading and predatory birds above in the glasswort and aquatic plants; further away from the salt estuary are soft cliffs and the distant sea