Studied by 5 people
Ecosystem
________: the sum of all the organisms living in a given area and the abiotic factors they interact with.
Endotherms
________: use thermal energy from metabolism to maintain body temperatures.
Species
________ can be grouped into trophic levels based upon their mains source of nutrition and energy.
availability of energy
Any changes to the ________ can disrupt ecosystems.
Ectotherms
________: use external sources (ie sun /shade or other organisms) to regulate their body temperature.
Secondary production
________: the amount of chemical energy in a consumers food that is converted to new biomass.
CO2
Can be measured in calories, heat loss, or by the amount of oxygen consumed (or ________ produced)
Decomposers
________: get energy from detritus (nonliving organic material; leaves, wood, dead organisms)
Metabolic rate
________: the total amount of energy an animal uses in a unit of time.
Organisms
________ use different strategies to regulate body temperature.
Oxygen
________ is used in cellular respiration and CO2 is produced as a by- product.
Heterotrophs
________: rely on autotrophs because they can not make their own food.
Primary production
________: the amount of light energy that is converted to chemical energy.
Biomass
________: the total weight of dry matter (dry weight) present in the ecosystem at any one time; the total mass of organisms at a trophic level.
animals metabolic rate
A(n) ________ is related to its body mass.
Matter
________ is found in limited amounts, unlike solar energy.
vs photosynthetic
Some organisms are chemosynthetic (________) meaning they produce food using the energy created by chemical reactions.
Abiotic factors
________: nonliving (physical and chemical properties of the environment)
Tertiary consumers
________: carnivores that eat other carnivores.
transfer of energy
The ________ between trophic levels is at around 10 % efficiency.
Organisms
________ tend to be larger in size at higher trophic levels, but their smaller numbers result in less biomass.
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)
1st law of thermodynamics
energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transferred
Law of conservation of mass
chemical elements are continually recycled in the environment
2nd law of thermodynamics
exchanges of energy increase the entropy of the universe
Endotherms
use thermal energy from metabolism to maintain body temperatures
Ectotherms
use external sources (ie sun/shade or other organisms) to regulate their body temperature
Metabolic rate
the total amount of energy an animal uses in a unit of time
Primary producers (autotrophs)
use light energy to synthesize organic compounds
Heterotrophs
rely on autotrophs because they cannot make their own food
Primary consumers
herbivores
Secondary consumers
carnivores that eat herbivores
Tertiary consumers
carnivores that eat other carnivores
Decomposers
get energy from detritus (nonliving organic material; leaves, wood, dead organisms)
Food chain
the transfer of food energy up the trophic levels
Food webs
linked food chains
Primary production
the amount of light energy that is converted to chemical energy
Gross primary production (GPP)
total primary production in an ecosystem
Net primary production (NPP)
the GPP minus the energy used by the primary producers for respiration (Ra)
Secondary production
the amount of chemical energy in a consumers food that is converted to new biomass
Biomass
the total weight of dry matter (dry weight) present in the ecosystem at any one time; the total mass of organisms at a trophic level
Biogeochemical cycles
nutrient cycles that contain both biotic and abiotic factors
Biological importance of the water cycle
water is essential for all life and influences the rate of ecosystem processes
Biological importance of the carbon cycle
carbon is essential for life and required in the formation of organic compounds
Biological importance of the nitrogen cycle
nitrogen is important for the formation of amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids
Biological importance of the phosphorous cycle
phosphorus is important for the formation of nucleic acids, phospholipids, and ATP (energy)
Note 
Flashcard (44)