Energy Flow Through Ecosystems

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)