14 Ecosystem Ecology and Climate Conservation

Question 1

Define what ecosystem ecology includes that community ecology does not

Answer 1

• Ecosystem Ecology:
  communities plus abiotic environment
• Focuses on movement of energy, nutrients, matter among the various community members within the ecosystem and environment

Question 2

Explain why nutrients cycle within ecosystems but energy flows through them. Trace
the cycling of matter and flow of energy through ecosystems

Answer 2

Nutrient Cycle and Energy Flow occur simultaneously, helping each other function

Nutrients Cycle: system where nutrients are recycled between living and non-living organisms of the environment. This happens through plants consuming nutrients found in the soil –> Animals eat these plants with nutrients –> Animals/Plants die and decompose –> nutrients return to the soil

Energy Flow: sun gives plants energy to convert light energy into chemical energy and are stored as glucose. This energy is passed through the ecosystem through animals eating plants –> animals eating each other. However as energy is transferred from animal to another, energy gets lost as heat during cellular respiration.

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Question 3

Describe the process by which nutrients are made available to primary producers

Answer 3

this process is called “nutrient uptake in primary producers” where primary producers absorb nutrients from the soil through their roots and are converted into usable forms. These nutrients are used to aid the primary producers’ growth and reproduction

Question 4

Define net primary production (NPP) and explain why it is an important measurement.

Answer 4

net primary production (NPP) is all the biomass/energy that primary producers make, minus what they use themselves for cellular respiration

NPP is an important measurement because the entire food chain is based on NPP.
- It helps us understand the distribution of energy within the food web: The amount of biomass/energy they have is what can be distributed throughout the entire food web.
- High NPP indicates healthy ecosystem
- NPP shows how much CO2 plants are consuming and converting to biomass
- NPP helps manage agriculture

Question 5

Given a world map or a description of ecosystems, be able to predict which large areas have higher or lower net primary production and explain why

Answer 5

NPP is highest in warm wet areas because those conditions promote plant growth

Question 6

Explain why energy transfer is inefficient within communities (trophic efficiency).
Identify the consequences for biomass at each trophic level.
Know what approximate proportion of the energy at each trophic level is transferred to the next level up.
Use these ideas to explain why food chains are generally short (<6 links). Explain how this
trophic inefficiency is relevant to human diet choices.

Answer 6

• Trophic Efficiency is inefficient within human communities.