Energy cycles Flashcards
energy flow of earth
The Earth is an open system to energy
Energy flows in as solar radiation
Energy leaves as Infra-red radiation (heat)
food webs show
the flow of energy through living things
Photoautotrophs
Photoautotrophs convert light energy and; inorganic C (CO2) into chemical energy in organic compounds
Chemoheterotrophs
break down organic chemicals to release energy to make ATP
Energy conversions
pass energy from one organism to another
Every conversion loses some energy as heat
Plants capture solar energy using
pigments
Different pigments use different
wavelengths of light
wavelengths of light
violet/blue and red light best
Chlorophyll b absorbs
blue and orange
Carotenoids absorb
violet, blue & green
how much of the visible light that strikes plants is captured
one percent visible light
Primary Productivity:
the amount of light E converted to chemical E in form of organic compounds per unit of time
GPP
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)= TOTAL
NPP
Net Primary Productivity (NPP) = Total - Ra
NPP usually about ½ of GPP
(Amount of energy for herbivore)
Ra
Ra= autotroph
respiration
Calculating Productivity, GPP measured as
Biomass produced/area/time (g/m/year) or as oxygen produced
Calculating Productivity, Ra measured by
how much oxygen is consumed by cellular respiration
assimilation
Assimilation = (Ingestion - Excretion)
How much energy gets into body
efficiency
plant v animal material
15-50% of the food is plant material
60-90% of the food is animal material
Much of the energy assimilated is used to produce
ATP