chapter 46 - ecosystems - (lecture 6) Flashcards

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1
Q

a community interacting with its environment via the ongoing flow of energy and a cycling of nutrients

A

ecosystem

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2
Q

autotrophs

A
  • producers (primary)
  • capture sunlight or chemical energy
  • are the catalyst to energy flow
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3
Q

heterotrophs

A
  • get energy and organic nutrients by feeding on tissues, wastes or remains of other organisms
  • also known as consumers
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4
Q

herbivore

A

eats plants (90%)

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5
Q

carnivore

A

eats meat (90%)

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6
Q

omnivore

A

eats both plants and meat (≤ 89%)

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7
Q

parasite

A

relies on other organisms by siphoning their host’s nutrients or consuming directly from them

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8
Q

decomposer

A

consumes remains, dead body parts, breaks things down

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9
Q

detritivores

A

consume particulate organic matter; turn organics into inorganics

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10
Q

how are lines between types of consumers blurry? give an example

A

many animals consume both plants and meat, in different stages of life, and in different seasons.

ex: foxes consume largely fruit in the summer, and more rodents and birds in the winter. the ratio of their diet changes, so it becomes a question on how to define that

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11
Q

trophic level

A

the position of an organism in a food chain

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12
Q

within each trophic level…

A
  • all the organisms are the same number of steps away from the energy input into the system
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13
Q

which trophic group is closest to the energy input?

A

producers

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14
Q

the highest predator, typically a tertiary or quaternary consumer, is sometimes called…

A

an apex predator

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15
Q

should we use the term food web or food chain? why?

A

food webs are better to use because they include all the possible paths for energy flow within the trophic levels

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16
Q

the rate at which producers capture and store energy (varies between ecosystems and producers)

A

primary production

17
Q

stored glucose in plants is called…

A

starch

18
Q

ecological efficiency is low because…

A
  • some energy is always lost at each step
  • only 5-30% of energy is transferred, we standardize this as 10%
  • these factors limits the number of tropic levels
19
Q

calorie

A

the amount of heat needed to raise 1 mL of water 1 degree celsius

20
Q

why doesn’t each trophic level transfer all of its energy to the next level?

A

the organism’s metabolism uses up a lot of energy, energy lost in heat, waste products, shedding of cells, etc.

21
Q

a kilocalorie is…

A

1000 calories

22
Q

the stacked trophic levels with autotrophs at the base and heterotrophs at each subsequent level is called…

A

a trophic pyramid

23
Q

the sun hits and generates ___ million kilocalories per square meter per year, and 98.8% of it is lost to heat and not absorbed by photosynthetic producers

A

1.7