Ecosystems & Ecology Flashcards
all the organisms and abiotic factors within a community
ecosystem
system that absorbs energy and mass and releases heat and waste products
open system
energy flows _____ ecosystems, matter flows _____ ecosystems
through, within
energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed
1st law of thermodynamics
every exchange of energy increase the entropy of the universe
2nd law of thermodynamics
How does energy enter an ecosystem?
as solar radiation
What does energy get transformed into via photosynthesis?
chemical energy
How is energy dissipated?
as heat
matter cannot be created or destroyed
law of conservation of mass
______ elements are continually recycled within ecosystems
chemical
consumers that derive their energy from detritus
dertritivores
nonliving organic matter
detritus
_______ connects all trophic levels
decomposition
the amount of light energy converted to chemical energy by autotrophs during a given time period
primary production
ecosystem’s total primary production
gross primary production
GPP minus energy used by primary producers for “autotrophic repsiration”
net primary production
the element that must be added for production to increase in an area
limiting nutrients
_____ and ____ control primary production
light and nutrients
______ and ______ limit production at large scales in terrestrial primary production
temperature and moisture
What are the adaptations that help plants access limiting nutrients?
- mutualisms with nitrogen-fixing bacteria
- mutualism with mycorrhizal fungi
- root hairs
- enzymes that increase the availability of limiting nutrients
nutrient cycles in ecosystems that involve biotic and abiotic components
biogeochemical cycles
biogeochemical cycle in which photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide to organic molecules
carbon cycle
What are some types of carbon reservoirs?
- fossil fuels
- solutes in oceans
- plant and animal biomass
- atmosphere
- soil, sediments, and sedimentary rocks
What does the nitrogen cycle produce?
nitrates that can be used by all producers
What does the phosphorus cycle produce?
phosphate ions and minerals into the soil to be consumed by plants
amount of chemical energy in food converted to new biomass during a given period fo time
secondary production
fraction of energy stored in food that is not used for respiration
production efficiency
percentage of production transferred from one trophic level to the next
trophic efficiency
_____% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next
~10
_____ are the unit used when talking about the transfer of energy
joules (J)
