Chapter 55 Flashcards
What direction does energy flow?
One direction
Chemical cycling
Chemicals cycle within ecosystems
Ecosystem
All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; one or more communities and the physical environment around them.
Does total amount of energy in ecosystem change?
No
Second law of thermodynamics
Every exchange of energy increases entropy(lack of order in a system) of the universe. Energy conversion are always inefficient, some heat is always lost
Detritus
All the nonliving organism material in the ecosystem such as bodies of dead organisms and dead leaves.
Autotrophs
Organism that is able to form nutrition organisms substances form simple inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide
Heterotrophs
Organisms deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organism substances
Herbivores
Primary consumers, hunted by carnivores
Secondary consumers
Also carnivores, hunted by other carnivores
Detrivore
Animal whichx feeds on dead organic material, especially plant detritus.
Aka decomposers
Most common, fungi
Primary production
The amount of light energy converted into chemical energy in the form of organic compounds
What happens which primary produces are chemoautotrophs
Initial energy input is chemical and are the organism compounds synthesized by the microorganism.
Amount of energy earths atmosphere is struck by
10^32 joules
Gross primary production
Total primary production, amount of light energy converted to chemical energy per unit time.
Net primary production
R = total amount of organic carbons that is reprised (Oxidized to CO2) by plants per unit time
NPP = GPP - R_a
Biomass
Primary production represents storage of chemical E available to the consumers in the ecosystem
Most productive ecossytem
Tropical rain forest
Light limitation
Depth of light penetration affects primary production through the photic szone of an ocean.
Nutrient limitation
Nutrients limit primary production more than light in most oceans and lakes.
Limiting nutrient
Element that must be added to increase production
Iron is a common limiting nutrient. Can stimulate growth of Cyanobacteria that fix additional atmosphere nitrogen.
Where in oceans is there high primary production
Areas of upwelling
Eutrophication in freshwater
Caused by sewage and fertilizer runoff from farms and lawns.
Net ecosystem production
Measure of the total biomass accumulation during that time
Use of NEP
Determine if Ecosystem is gaining/losing C overtime
NPP can loose C if heterotrophs release CO2 faster than primary produces can incorporate it to organic compounds.
Main factors that control PP
Temperature and moisture
Low productivity systems
Hot and dry like deserts or cold and dry like arctic tundra
Common limiting mineral nutrients
Nitrogen and Phosphorus
How do plants increase uptake of limiting nutients?
-Mutualisms like symbiosis w/ plant roots and N fixing bacteria
- Mycorrhizal association between plant roots and fungi
-Release enzymes/other stuff to soil to increase availability
Secondary production
Amount of chemical energy in consumers food that is converted to their own new biomass during a given period
Assimilation
Consists of the total energy taken in, not including loss of waste, used for growth, reproduction, and respiration
Trophic efficiency
Percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next.
Turnover time
Amount of time required for replacement by flow-through of the energy or substance of interest contained in the system
Importance of C
Forms framework of the organic mulecules essential to all organisms
What removes a lot of CO2
Photosynthesis
Importance of N
Part of amino acids, proteins, and nucleic acids
Where is N found
Atmosphere 80% N
soil and sediments
Importance of P
constituent of nucleic acids, phospholipids and ATP, also bonds and teeth
Common form of P used in living organisms
Phosphate
Where is P usually found
Marine sedimentary rock, soil, oceans, organisms
Decomposers E source
detritus
Growth of Decomposers controlled by?
Temperature, moisture, and nutrient availability
Decomposition in tropical vs Temperate forest
Tropical is faster, and most nutrient in tree trunk.
Most nutrient in soil in temeprate
Biomremidiation
Making land less toxic by removing the toxic metals in land
Biological augmentation
Add necessary resources/material into the soil with the help of organisms
Biogeochemical cycles
Any of the various chemical cycles, which involve both biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems.
Reserrvoirs
Location of chemical element consisting of either organic or inorganic materials that are either available to for direct use by organisms or unavailable as nutrients
Reservoir of C
Fossil fules soils, marine sediment, plant/animal biomass. Largest is sedimentary rock like limestone
dentrification
the microbial process of reducing nitrate and nitrite to gaseous forms of nitrogen, principally nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrogen (N2
Assimilation
Consists of the total energy taken in, not including loss of waste, used for growth, reproduction, and respiration
Biomass
Total quantity of weight of organisms in a given area of volume
N Fixation
N2 taken fro atmosphere and converted into N compounds for other biochemical processes
Ammonification
\NH4
