Chapter 55 Flashcards
How does energy flow through the ecosystem?
One way, from producers upwards
How do chemicals flow through the ecosystem?
Cycle back and forth
What does chemical cycling look like?
Plants absorb chemicals from the soil and air, which get passed onto herbivores, who pass them onto carnivores and to the soil.
Does all life depend on the sun?
No!
What do plants use chemicals for?
Making organic food
Do all ecosystems have energy flow and chemical cycling?
Yes
What are emergent properties?
Properties that arise from interactions between parts of a system (like how parts of a bicycle don’t get you anywhere unless you put them together)
What is the law of conservation of energy?
The first law of thermodynamics- Energy can’t be created or destroyed, just transferred or transformed
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
Every exchange of energy increases the enthalpy of the universe when energy is lost as heat
What is the law of conservation of mass? How does it relate to ecology?
Matter cannot be created or destroyed, but elements can be cycled and gained or lost by ecosystems. We can make a budget tracking the flow of elements going in and out of ecosystems.
What is primary production?
The amount of light energy autotrophs convert into chemical energy during a certain period
What is the total primary production equal to?
The gross primary production (ACTUALLY DOUBLE CHECK)
What is the formula for net primary production?
Gross primary production- (respiration of autotrophs)
What is gross primary production?
Total amount of organic matter produced by autotrophs through photosynthesis
What is net primary production?
Amount of organic matter produced by autotrophs that consumers are able to use in an ecosystem
What is NEP?
Total biomass accumulated by an ecosystem, GPP
What affects primary production?
Climactic factors
What is the global energy budget limited by?
The amount of radiation that enters the earth’s atmosphere each day
What is the formula for Net Ecosystem Production?
NEP= GPP-RT (Gross primary production-total respiration of ecosystem)
Why is NEP useful to ecologists?
Determines whether ecosystem is gaining or losing carbon over time (gaining or losing biomass)
What is primary production in ecosystems limited by?
Light and nutrients (nutrients is the bigger one)
What is light limited by?
Depth
What is nutrient limitation?
Nutrient whose lack of abundance limits the amount of growth in an ecosystem
What are (usually) the limiting nutrients in saltwater areas?
Nitrogen and phosphorous
