11) any abiotic or biotic factor in an ecosystem that causes a population’s size to slow or decrease is a factor. a) growth b) limiting c) carrying d) density dependent

Correct B). Limiting Factor

In ecology, if the presence or absence of a factor limits the growth of another organism in an ecosystem is called a limiting factor. The limiting factor increases the competition among the species living in that ecosystem.

The various abiotic factors that limit the growth of other organisms in the ecosystem are sunlight, soil, temperature, nutrients etc.

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.    

the answer would be 3