Final answer:
Decomposers, including bacteria and fungi, break down large organic matter into smaller particles, playing a vital role in nutrient recycling and ecosystem stability.
Step-by-step explanation:
The organisms that play an important role in breaking down large organic matter into smaller particles with higher ratios of surface area to volume are decomposers. Examples of decomposers include bacteria and fungi. These organisms are crucial in recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem by breaking down the remains of dead organisms and other organic wastes, such as feces, into simpler inorganic molecules that producers can then use to make new organic compounds.
Detritivores, like earthworms and dung beetles, are a type of decomposer that ingests and digests detritus. However, they differ from decomposers like bacteria and fungi, which secrete enzymes to break down materials externally. Therefore, in the context of the student's question, the correct answer is e. decomposers.