Ecosystem Ecology

AP Environmental Science Chapter 3

Photons

Massless packets of energy that travel at the speed of light

electromagnetic radiation

The energy transferred through space by electromagnetic waves.

The sun emits

electromagnetic radiation

The amount of energy contained in a photon depends on its

wavelength

Wavelength is

the distance between two peaks or droughts in a wave

Longer wavelengths have

lower amounts of energy

Short wavelengths are

higher frequency and damaging to organisms because it can disrupt DNA

Plants use electromagnetic radiation for photosynthesis in the

visible light region

The visible light region is from

400 to 700 nm

Photosynthesis is performed by

plants, algae, and some bacteria

Respiration is performed by

all organisms

Formula for photosynthesis

6H₂O + 6CO₂ + Light Energy → C₆H₁₂O₆+ 6O₂

Formula for respiration

C6H12O6 +6O2 \= 6CO2 +6H2O + ATP

H20

water

CO2

carbon dioxide

C6H1206

glucose

O2

Oxygen

Carbon dioxide consists of

1 carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms

Carnivore

A consumer that eats other consumers

Secondary consumer

A carnivore that eats primary consumers

Tertiary consumer

A carnivore that eats secondary consumers

Trophic levels

The successive levels of organisms consuming one another

Food web

A complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels

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

Detritivores

break down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the environment

Examples of detritivores include

earthworms, dung beetles, and pill bugs

primary consumer

An organism that eats producers

Amount of energy available in an ecosystem

Determines that amount of life they can support

1% rule

Only 1% of the energy coming to the earth from the sun is harnessed by autotrophs

10% rule

Only 10% of the energy available in one trophic level will be passed to the next trophic level

Gross primary productivity

the total amount of energy producers capture

Net primary productivity

NPP \= GPP - respiration by producers

Autotroph

Organisms that create their own food through photosynthesis

Hetertroph

Organisms that rely on energy from autotrophs

Plankton

Microscopic organisms that live in water

Photosynthesis

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

Cellular respiration

The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds

Aerobic respiration

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

Anaerobic respiration

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

Scavenger

An organism that consumers 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

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 amount trophic levels