Ecology Unit 8: Energy Flow Through Ecosystems

Flashcards derived from the lecture notes on energy flow through ecosystems, focusing on key terms and definitions related to ecology.

Ecosystem

The sum of all the organisms living in a given area and the abiotic factors they interact with.

Biotic factors

Living, or once living, components of an environment.

Abiotic factors

Nonliving physical and chemical properties of the environment.

First law of thermodynamics

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transferred.

Second law of thermodynamics

Exchanges of energy increase the entropy of the universe.

Metabolic rate

The total amount of energy an animal uses in a unit of time.

Endotherms

Organisms that use thermal energy from metabolism to maintain body temperatures.

Ectotherms

Organisms that use external sources to regulate their body temperature.

Trophic levels

Groups of species based on their main source of nutrition and energy.

Autotrophs

Primary producers that use light energy to synthesize organic compounds.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that rely on autotrophs for food because they cannot make their own.

Primary production

The amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by primary producers.

Gross primary production (GPP)

Total primary production in an ecosystem.

Net primary production (NPP)

GPP minus the energy used by primary producers for respiration.

Biogeochemical cycles

Nutrient cycles that contain both biotic and abiotic factors.

Water cycle

The cycle that is essential for all life and influences the rate of ecosystem processes.

Carbon cycle

The cycle that is essential for life and required in the formation of organic compounds.

Nitrogen cycle

The cycle important for the formation of amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Phosphorus cycle

The cycle important for the formation of nucleic acids, phospholipids, and ATP.