1.4: Productivity

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

Biosphere

the region of our planet where life resides, the combination of all ecosystems on Earth

Producer/Autotroph

An organism that uses the energy of the Sun to produce usable forms of energy

Photosynthesis

The process by which producers/autotrophs use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose

Scavengers

Organisms that consume dead animals

Detritivore

An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Decomposers

Fungi and bacteria that convert organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem

Cellular Respiration

The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds

Aerobic Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water

Anaerobic Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen

Consumer/Heterotroph

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms

Herbivore/Primary Consumer

A consumer that eats producers

Carnivore

A consumer that eats other consumers

Secondary Consumer

A carnivore that eats primary consumers/herbivores

Tertiary Consumer

A carnivore that eats secondary consumers

Trophic Levels

The successive levels of organisms consuming one another

Food Chain

The sequence of consumption, from producers through tertiary consumers

Food Web

A complex model of how energy or matter moves between trophic levels

Gross Primary Productivity/GPP

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time

Net Primary Productivity/NPP

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem, minus the energy that producers respire

Biomass

The total mass of all living matter in a specific area

Standing Crop

The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time

Ecological Efficiency

The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another

Trophic Pyramid

A representation of the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among trophic levels