2.1 Energy Flow in Ecosystems Flashcards
What is Energy Flow?
The flow of energy from an ecosystem to and organism and from one organism to another
What are producers and why are they called producers?
- plants!
- they produce food in the form of carbs during photosynthesis
What are consumers?
Organisms that feed on other organisms
What is Biodegradation?
The process by which dead organic matter is broken down naturally by biological agents, especially bacteria
What are decomposers?
Organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, that change waste and dead organisms into usable nutrients for other organisms in soil and water
What is a food chain?
A chain to show the flow of energy in a ecosystem from producer to consumer, and from consumer to consumer
What can consumers in a food chain be classified as? Give examples. (4)
- Detrivores: consumer that eat dead organisms and waste matter (important energy source for consumers like birds) eg. beetles and earthworms
- Herbivores: consumers that only eat plants
eg. deers and grasshoppers - Carnivores: consumers that eat animals
eg. frogs and hawks - Omnivores: consumers that eat both plants and animals
eg. humans and bears
What is a trophic level?
The number of energy transfers an organism is from the original solar energy entering the food chain, each step in a food chain is a trophic level
What is a food web?
A model to show the feeding relationship in an ecosystem
What do arrows in a food web represent?
The flow of energy and nutrients between organisms
What will you find by following the arrows up the food web?
The top carnivore(s)
What are food pyramids or ecological pyramids?
A pyramid that shows the changes in available energy from one trophic level to another in a food chain.
What is biomass?
The total mass of all living things in a given area
Where does energy enter?
- at the 1st tropic level, the producer tropic level
- there is a large amount of biomass here
True or False: Lower trophic levels have smaller populations than upper level.
False
True or False: It takes large quantities of organisms in one trophic level to meet the energy needs of the next trophic level.
True
About how much energy is loss in-between trophic levels and why? (3)
- about 90% is lost
- it is used in chemical reactions in the body and is lost as heat energy
- there is little energy left for growth or increase in biomass
What does a pyramid of numbers show?
- the number of organisms at each trophic level
What does a pyramid of biomass show?
- the number of organisms at each trophic level multiplied by they biomass, which compensates for the difference in size among organisms
The amount of life an ecosystem can contain is based on the _______ level of the ecological pyramid
- bottom
- this is where producers capture energy from the sun
What is it important to maintain at the lowest levels of the food pyramid? (2)
- biodiversity
- large populations
