Ecosystem Basics Flashcards
Define an ecosystem
A set of relationships between all the organisms and non-living factors in a particular area
E.g. A rainforest - includes trees, animals and micro organisms but also water, soil, rock and air
What are biotic and abiotic factors of an ecosystem
Organisms living in an ecosystem are biotic factors and non-living objects are abiotic factors
What is a biome
An area with a distinctive climate and vegetation
E.g. Tropical rainforest
How does energy enter an ecosystem
By photosynthesis - plants use energy from sunlight to grow and reproduce
Explain the energy flow process in an ecosystem
Energy is stored in the plant and passed up the food chain when the plant is eaten - when one organism eats another it receives the energy from that organism - energy flows between all the organisms in an ecosystem.
What are food chains and webs used for?
To show how energy moves through an ecosystem (through each tropic level)
Each trophic of an ecosystem
1) producers(autotrophs) — make their own food
2) primary consumers(herbivores, omnivores) — eat producers
3) secondary consumers(carnivores, omnivores) — eat consumers
4) tertiary consumers(top carnivores, omnivores) — eat consumers
What is biomass
The total mass of living matter
It decreases at each trophic level
Energy loss
Some energy is lost at each trophic in a food chain. Energy levels decrease as you go up the food chain.
Around 90% of energy is lost at each level
What do food chains show?
One way the energy from a producer is passed to a consumer
What does a food web show
Multiple food chains and demonstrate different ways energy flows through an ecosystem
Energy lost between sunlight and autotroph
Less than 50% of sunlight is actually used in photosynthesis
E.g. Some will fall on areas of the plant that don’t photosynthesise (stem)
Energy lost by the consumers
Only about 10% of energy stored by the autotroph is passed to the herbivores, and 10% stored by herbivores is passed to carnivores
Some parts of organism aren’t eaten (roots), energy lost by waste
What happens to nutrients in an ecosystem
They’re constantly being recycled
Between plants, animals and the atmosphere
Describe the nutrient cycle in an ecosystem
- PlAnts take CO2 from the air and nutrients from the soil e.g. nitrogen - use these to create plant material
- these nutrients get passed along food chains by feeding
- when plants and animals die they’re broken down by decomposes (bacteria). Nutrients are returned to soil to be used again by plants
- plants, animals and decomposers all release CO2 back into the air rough respiration
