4 Energy And Matter In Ecosystems Flashcards
Cellular respiration
Where glucose and oxygen react, and produce CO2 and water; the energy released is used to convert ADP to ATP.
C6 H12 O6 + O2 => CO2 + H2O + energy (ATP)
It is a metabolic process which both producers and consumers go through.
Ecological niche
The roll an organism plays in an ecosystem and the conditions it requires to persist (E.g food resources, feeding activities spatial habitat and reproduction relationships)
Nitrogen fixation
The process where atmosphere nitrogen (gas) is combined to form ammonium or nitrate ions before living things can make use of it for growth, all nitrogen fixing organisms are prokaryotes
Photosynthetic efficiency
-Photosynthetic efficiency refers to the amount of light energy plants and algae that are able to convert into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
-This can range from 0.1% to 8% depending on plant species.
how does light energy enter an ecosystem
light energy enters an ecosystem via photosynthetic producers such as plants like algae, which are plants that manufacture food in the form of organic matter using the energy of the sun
What are autotrophs
autotroph meaning ‘self-feeders’ are producers that are able to synthesise organic compounds (nucleus acids, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates) from in organic raw materials
photosynthesis
the biochemical process that producers (autotrophs) use to transform energy in sunlight into chemical energy.
6CO2+6H2O→C6H12O6+6O2
heterotrophs
living things that cannot synthesise their own organic compounds (food) from inorganic materials
the 10% ecology rule
The 10% ecology rules states that only about 10% of energy at one trophic level is passed onto the next.
The remaining 90% is lost to the surroundings as heat energy and chemical energy in wastes
competitive exclusion principle
the competitive exclusion principle states that two similar species that compete for a resource cannot coexist in the same community
what is the carbon cycle
the carbon uncle is a biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of earth
Biomass
the total mass of organic matter at each trophic level.
biomass is just another term for potential energy (energy is to be eaten)
ecological pyramid
-shows the relationship between consumers and producers at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
-shows the relative amount of energy or matter contained at each trophic level
-the pyramid shows what level has the most energy and highest number of organisms
define a food chain
-food chains shows the relationship in which energy and nutrients are transferred from plants to consumers.
-the arrows in a food chain represents the direction of flow of energy.
food webs
show all the interacting and interconnecting food relationships, while food chains only show one chain of energy consumption
competitors
compete for a resource between or within species
collaborators
members of a group that help each other catch prey
inTERspecific interaction
a relationship between members of a DIFFERENT species
inTRAspecific
relationships between members of the SAME species
Symbiosis
the relationship between 2 organisms from different species and at least 1 benefits
trophic level
-a trophic level is each step in the transfer of energy
-main trophic levers are producers, consumers and decomposers
numbers pyramid
represents the number of organisms that make up each trophic level.
biomass pyramid
represents the mass (weight) of all living organisms within that trophic level
human impact on carbon cycle
humans impact the carbon cycle by -burning (especially fossil fuels).
-leaving fewer plants (meaning less CO2 removed from atmosphere during photosynthesis)
-farming (cows release large amounts of methane)
What is gross primary productivity?
(GPP)
GPP is a term used to describe the total amount of energy that flows through all producers, measured in kilojoules per meter squared per year
Fundamental niche
The ideal niche a species would occupy without competition, predators or parasites
Realised niche
The actual niche a species inhabits
Resource partitioning
Devision of resources amongst a species
Keystone species
Species which plays a vital roll in an ecosystem and effects many other species in communities even if it’s not abundant.
Prevents organisms from lower trophies levels from monopolising food and space resources.
What do nitrifiers do
Nitrifiers are bacteria. They convert decaying material to nitrites and nitrates.
