Ecosystem Flashcards
Energy flow through the ecosystem
Nutrients
Uv light converted into chemical energy
High quality energy in and low quality energy out
Nutrients cycle through
Law of the conservation of mass
Matter cannot be created nor destroyed (in an isolated system)
All nutrients are rearranged
Laws of thermodynamics
1st law is energy cannot be created nor destroyed
2nd entropy is increased every thing an energy changes forms (we will loose energy to create chaos/heat)
Entropy: (heat)
Energy budget and trophic levels
200j consumed in all
100j which are feces and not assimilated
33j growth(new biomass; secondary production)
67j are used in cellular respiration
10percent tule
Only ten percent of energy moves on to next step
Gpp
Gross primary productivity
Autotrophs
Total energy produced by photosynthesis and chemosynthisids
Npp
Net primary productivity
Is energy created after subtracting energy used in metabolismo
NEP
Net ecosystem productivity
(Photosynthesis energy)- (producer metabolism-consumer metabolism)
Can be +-
Energy pyramid
10% rule
Gpp in NEP out
Biomass pyramid
How much each level ways in total
More at the bottom less at the top
Number pyramid
Is just the amount of species
Bug base and low top
Trophic cascades (top down)
When you remove the a top level organism which will have trickle down effects on all the other species (think keystone species)
Biomagnification
Bottom up
Lower trophic level is low
Higher level has greater concentration
Lipid soluable compounds stay in your tissues so they stay in the body and through eating and eating
Water cycel
Main reservoir (main available) (glaciers -freshwater) (ocean- salt water)
What makes it available
Processes
Evaporation
Precipitation
Condensation
Sublimation- solid to gas
Run off
Ground water
Carbon cycle
Co2 in atmosphere
Fossil fuels (most not usable) humans put a lot of extra via fossil fuels Into the atmosphere - leads to acidic oceans due to buffer system
Gas exchange ie cell resp
And photosynthesis
Nitrogen
N2 atmosphere (main and useable)
N2 has 3 bonds
Broken down by special bacteria (nitrogen fixation) into amonium
Other bacteria turn it into nitrite and then nitrate (nitrification)
Denitrifacton by some bacteria back into n2 from nitrate
Some nitrate is taken into food webs and is brought back to ammonium by ammonification by de composers
Phosphorus cycle
Mostly found in rock form or aerosol
Limiting nutrient - not high abundance
N and phosphorus from crop nutrients collects in streams and then the oceans and creates dead zones ie eutrification
Rock weathering can introduce some to the ecosystem
Eutrophication
Nutrients collect in water
Alge grows exponential
Cuts off light and o2 from water
When algae dies it sinks to the bottoms and decomposes through a process that causes even less o2 In the water making it uninhabitable for many species
Sulfur cycle
Resivoir is the soil (H2S and so4)
If found in the air will cause acid rain
Biodiversity
Number of unique species
Variety of genetic makeup
Animals are the most diverse (insects)
The larger the habitat the more types of species that can be there
Biodiversity hot spot
High amount of diversity whith a large chance of human caused death
Ie 80% of forests have been effected by humans
50% of life have been effected by humans
Mostly tropic environments in 3rd world nations
Mass extinctions
Permian extinction - leads to the dinosaurs after Pangea being formed lots of water life died
Cretáceos - dinosaurs caused by ice age and meteor strike
Diversification increase after extinction. So they can evolve into new open niches
Humans are causing massive death
Ecosystem services
Needs being met
Food
Medicine
Other things
