Energy and Ecosystems Flashcards
what is an ecosystem
all the organisms living in a particular area known as the community as
well as all the non-living elements of that particular environment
what is a niche
the particular role a species has in its habitat and consists of its biotic and abiotic interactions with the environment
what are organisms that can produce their own food called
autotrophs
what are organisms who cant produce their own food called
heterotrophs
what percentage of chemical food energy is passed along to other organisms
10%
give two ways 90% of the chemic food energy lost
- excretion
- exothermic reactions
what is this equation used for : percentage efficiency = energy available after the transfer / energy available before the transfer x 100
to find the efficiency of energy transferred between trophic levels
how can biomass be measured
mass of carbon or dry mass of tissue per given area
per given time
how can the chemical energy stored in dry biomass be estimated
calorimetry
what is net primary productivity (NPP)
rate at which energy is transferred into the organic molecules that make up new plant biomass, that is the chemical energy store in plant biomass after respiratory losses to the environment have been taken into account
what is the gross primary productivity (GPP)
rate at which energy is incorporated into organic molecule in the plants in photosynthesis, that is the chemical energy store in biomass, in a given area or volume, in a given time
how can the net production of consumers be calculated
N = I - (F+R)
what does F and R stand for in the equation to find the net production of consumers
F = chemical energy lost to environment in faeces and urine
R = respiratory losses to the environment
