Ecology Flashcards
Chemosynthesis
Conversion of carbon into sugars and nutrients by bacteria in dark places. They use hydrogen gas, hydrogen sil fire and methane gas as sources of energy, rather than light.
Photosynthesis
Conversion of carbon dioxide and water into sugars and oxygen by plants- with help of light
First law of thermodynamics
Energy can’t be created or destroyed only transformed
Second law
During any energy transformation 90% of the energy will be converted into an unusable form as heat which is lost from the system
Limits on energy transfer
Only 10% of the energy available in on d trophic level is passed to the next, this limits the number of trophic levels that can be supported by an ecosystem
Pyramid of numbers
Tells us the population of each trophic level
Pyramid of biomass
Tells us the biomass for each trophic level
Biomass
Total dry mass of all living material in an ecosystem
Pyramid of energy
Tells us the amount of energy found in the body of an organism at each trophic level
remember 10% transfer
Biotic potential
The max number of offspring that a species could produce if recourses were unlimited
Birth potential
The max number of offspring per birth
Capacity of survival
The dumber of offspring that reach reproductive age
Breeding frequency
The number of time that a species reproduces each year
Length of reproductive life
The age of sexual maturity and the number of year the individual can produce
Population
Density independent
A factor in an ecosystem that affects members of a population regardless of population density
Ex fire, flood
