Organic material may then be further decomposed by detritivores, organisms which recycle detritus, returning it to the environment for reuse in the food chain, where these chemicals may eventually end up being consumed and assimilated into the cells of an organism. Examples of detritivores include earthworms, woodlice and dung beetles. Microorganisms also play a vital role, raising the temperature of the decomposing matter as they break it down into yet simpler molecules. Not all materials need to be fully decomposed. Coal, a fossil fuel formed over vast tracts of time in swamp ecosystems, is one example. Natural selection
Contemporary evolutionary theory sees death as an important part of the process of natural selection. It is considered that organisms less adapted to their environment are more likely to die having produced fewer offspring, thereby reducing their contribution to the gene pool. Their genes are thus eventually bred out of a population, leading at worst to extinction and, more positively, making the process possible, referred to as speciation. Frequency of reproduction plays an equally important role in determining species survival: an organism that dies young but leaves numerous offspring displays, according to Darwinian criteria, much greater fitness than a long-lived organism leaving only one. Extinction
Extinction is the cessation of existence of a species or group of taxa, reducing biodiversity. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species (although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point).
Heather may refer to:

Plants
The heather family, or Ericaceae, particularly:
Common heather or ling, Calluna
Various species of the genus Cassiope
Various species of the genus Erica

Name
Heather (given name)
Heather (surname)

Arts and media
Heathers, a 1989 film directed by Michael Lehmann
Heathers: The Musical, a musical by Laurence OKeefe based on the film
Heathers (TV series), a 2018 television series based on the film
"Heather" (The Secret Circle), a television episode

Music
Heathers (band), an acoustic singing duo from Ireland
"Heather" (Beatles song), an unreleased 1968 song by Paul McCartney and Donovan
"Heather" (Conan Gray song), a 2020 song by American singer Conan Gray
"Heather", a song from fusion drummer Billy Cobhams 1974 album Crosswinds
"Heather", a 2001 song by Paul McCartney from the album Driving Rain
"Heather", a song from Patent Pending by Heavens
"Heather", a version of the Johnny Pearson song, "Autumn Reverie", which appeared on the Carpenters album Now & Then
”Heather”, a song from I Know Leopard’s album Love is a Landmine

Places
Heather, Leicestershire, a village in England
Heather Preceptory, a preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller, established in the above village
Heather St Johns Football Club, an English football club based in the above village
Heather, Missouri, a community in the United States
Heather, Washington, an unincorporated community in the United States

Other uses
Heather (fabric), interwoven yarns of mixed colours producing muted greyish shades with flecks of colour
Heather (yacht), the original name of the yacht USS Sea Gull, built in 1902
Heather, brand name of a progestogen-only pill containing norethisterone (norethindrone)

See also
Heath (disambiguation)
Heather Hills (disambiguation)
Hurricane Heather