Ecosystems Flashcards
Definition of an ecosystem
An ecological community plus the abiotic environment with which it interacts
Examples of small and large ecosystems
Aquarium to a lake or entire forest
How can all ecosystems by understood?
In terms of transfer and transformations of energy and matter
Conservation of energy - First law of thermodynamics is?
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed
Energy enters most ecosystems as what?
Solar radiation
That solar radiation is transformed to?
Chemical energy or biomass by photosynthesis - basis on which a food web is built
How is energy lost in ecosystems?
Eventually as heat through respiration
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
The entropy of a closed system always increases or remains constant
What do ecosystems require to function?
Constant influx of energy from an external source
What is entropy?
Any organised system tends to decay towards disorder without energy input
What are consequences of thermodynamics?
- energy flows through ecosystems and cannot be cycled or recycled
- energy transfer is inefficient between trophic levels
The law of mass conservation is?
Mass is neither created or destroyed
How can we recycle?
Detritivores and decomposers as they feed on dead organic material
