Ecosystems and Energy

ecosystem

sum of all the organisms living within its boundaries (bio community) + abiotic factors with which they interact

autotrophs

primary producers; usually photosynthetic (plants / algae); use light energy to synthesize sugars and other organic compounds

heterotrophs

can not make their own food; at tropic levels above the primary producers depending on their photosynthetic output

herivores

eat primary producers; called primary consumers

carnivores

eat herbivores; called secondary consumers

tertiary consumers

carnivores that eat secondary consumers

detritivores / decomposers

get energy from detritus and play important role in material cycling

detritus

nonliving organic material

primary production

amount of light energy that is converted to chemical energy

gross primary production

total primary production in an ecosystem

net primary production

gross primary production - energy used by the primary producers for respiration

primary production factors in aquatic ecosystems by -

light availability (lower depth = less phtotsynthesis)

nutrient availability

the concentration of essential nutrients necessary for plant growth, directly influencing primary production.

primary production factors in terrestrial ecosystems

temperature and moisture

eutrophic

nutrient - rich lake that supports algae growth

biogeochemical cycles

nutrient cycles that contain both biotic and abiotic compounds

nutrient cycles

water, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus

carbon cycle

co2 removed by photosynthesis, adding by burning fossil fuels

nitrogen cycle

1. nitrogen fixation - plants add nitrogen by bacteria

2. nitrification - ammonium turned into nitrate; absorbed by plants

3. petrifaction - release nitrogen to atmosphere

bioremediation

use or organism (prokaryotes, fungi, plants) to detoxify polluted ecosystems

bioaugmentation

introduces desirable species to add essential nutrients