Chapter 55: Ecosystem Ecology

autotroph

organism that makes it own food and energy (auto = self)

heterotroph

organism that obtains energy by consuming other organisms

herbivore

plant eater duh

carnivore

meat eater duh

decomposer

a type of heterotroph; break down dead organisms and organic waste, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem; critical for nutrient recycling

ex: fungi, bacteria, detritivores (worms, some insects)

every ecosystem needs…

primary producers (produce the first instance of energy and nutrients) and decomposers (recycle nutrients)

energy FLOW

energy starts as sunlight —> autotrophs —> consumers —> so on through out the trophic levels

chemical CYCLING

chemicals are returned to the environment by respiration or decomposition

two limiting factors of primary producers in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

terrestrial = temperature + moisture

aquatic = nutrients + sunlight

ecosystems with the greatest net primary production per unit area

tropical rain forests, estuaries, and coral reefs

ecosystems with largest total amount of Earth’s net primary production

oceans