Energy Flow

Question 1

Organisms that feed at multiple
trophic levels are known as

Answer 1

omnivores

Question 2

Detritivores are grouped with
_______in trophic studies

Answer 2

herbivores

Question 3

Detritus is grouped
with

Answer 3

primary producers

Question 4

Trophic dynamics

Answer 4

energy transfer from one part of ecosystem
to another.

Question 5

what limits trophic levels in ecosystems

Answer 5

energy loss

Question 6

As energy is transferred
across trophic levels,
energy is lost due to …

Answer 6

limited consumption and
assimilation
* Respiration
* Heat production

Question 7

First Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 7

The total amount of energy in the universe is constant.
* Energy can be neither created nor destroyed, only change form

Question 8

Second Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 8

Entropy will increase over time in a closed system. When energy is
transferred from one form to another, energy is lost, usually as heat.
* I.e., heat energy will move from a warmer body to a cooler one

Question 9

how does first law of thermodynamics carry out to ecology?

Answer 9

In a food web, energy is derived initially from sunlight through primary production.
* It is then converted from one biological form to another, but it is not created de novo.

Question 10

how does second law of thermodynamics carry out to ecology?

Answer 10

Energy is lost when it is passed on from one food web level to another,
most often as heat because organisms are warm & their surrounding is often colder

Question 11

Lindemans rule

Answer 11

Only 10% of energy consumed by a trophic level is
assimilated and available to higher trophic levels.

Question 12

“I thought aquatic pyramids were inverted?”

Answer 12

And you would be right. But not about energy production.
* It is important to pay attention to the axes labels on graphs
its about biomass

Question 13

One of the major differences between terrestrial vs.
aquatic ecosystems is
why?

Answer 13

biomass allocation
-Autotroph biomass removed by zooplankton at a higher rate
than terrestrial autotroph biomass being consumed by
terrestrial herbivores
-Autotrophs (phytoplankton, macroalgae) tend to be short
lived
-Greater proportion of autotrophs consumed by herbivores
than by detritivores compared to terrestrial system

Question 14

We can illustrate energy flow
through

Answer 14

energy budgets

Question 15

what is the major source of
energy available in this temperate forest
ecosystem

Answer 15

solar radiation
* Solar radiation is set to 100% to illustrate energy loss
through the system.

Question 16

how much energy enters the ecosystem as neet primary production

Answer 16

Only about 1% (!) of the total input by
solar radiation enters the ecosystem
as Net Primary Production

Question 17

where is energy flowing into the ecosystem lost?

Answer 17

Most of the energy flowing into the ecosystem is lost
* 15% of energy reflected back to space
* 41% converted to heat
* 42% was absorbed during evapotranspiration…
Even before it is available for consumption or
decomposition

Question 18

The trophic bottom of primary producers is

Answer 18

relatively big.

Question 19

The organic belowground matter stores

Answer 19

a lot of energy

Question 20

Consumer components are much smaller than

Answer 20

the
production components

Question 21

Ecosystems are

Answer 21

inefficient systems

Question 22

top-down control

Answer 22

where predators control the ecosystem through population checks

Question 23

bottom-up control

Answer 23

through the bottom-up approach, where resources control the growth of the population