Ecosystems Flashcards
Ecosystem
A community and nonliving parts of their physical environment (i.e., abiotic components)
Food chain
A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web starting from producer organisms and ending at an apex predator species, detritivores, or decomposer species.
Food webs
Food webs add complexity to food
chains, and demonstrate that trophic
level is often complex
How do we think of ecosystems
Often we think of ecosystems in terms of their energy or their matter/nutrients
Ecosystems and Energy
Ecosystems require energy inputs
First law of thermodynamics
Energy is neither created or destroyed
Second law of thermodynamics
As energy is transferred or transformed, more and more of it is “wasted”
What happens when energy is transferred
As energy is transferred from one organism to another, a portion may be stored, and a portion is dissipated as heat
Photosynthesis
Energy primarily brought into system through photosynthesis, especially in terrestrial systems
Do plants photosynthesize or Respirate
Both Photosynthesis and respiration
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
total amount of Carbon Dioxide fixed by photosynthesis
Net primary productivity (NPP)
Difference between what is accumulated and what is available for the food web
Respiration (R)
amount of carbon lost to respiration
Energy Transfer Equation
NPP = (GPP–R)
Is there an upper limit to primary production
Yes
