Energy Flow Flashcards
In photosynthesis what is energy converted into?
Light energy to chemical energy
How else can energy be used?
Chemically not from light
How is heat lost from an organism?
By the energy from respiration
What are most carbon compounds from photosynthesis used for?
Cell walls and other structural components
How is energy in cell walls passed onto heterotrophs?
Heterotrophs eat the leaves
What is energy used for in organisms?
Nucleic acid synthesis
Active transport
Cell division
Movement of components within cells
What is produced at each step of respiration?
Heat
Can organisms use energy in the form of heat?
No so it is released
Heat is lost from ecosystems by…
Respiration
Food chain
Shows how nutrients and energy are passed from producer to primary consumer, secondary consumer etc and how each organism gets its food
Food web
The interconnections that exist among food chains. Each organism may have several sources of nutrition or be a source of nutrition for several organisms
Trophic level
The position of an organism in the food chain
Where do consumers get their energy from specifically?
The carbon compounds in the organisms they feed on
What is a characteristic of the tertiary or top consumer in a food chain?
Not eaten by another consumer because in their habitat, nothing is bigger or stronger
Why is energy lost in food chains?
Heat from respiration
Some parts of previous trophic level are indigestible and leaves as faeces
Not all parts of previous trophic level are eaten for example bones
How much energy is transferred to the next trophic level?
10-20%
What do top predators have to do to keep up their energy requirements?
Eat more organisms
Can an ecosystem support more organisms of a higher trophic level?
No less organisms because energy loss and nutrient availability
How many trophic levels are food chains limited to due to energy?
Five maximum
Due to energy and consumers are normally bigger than prey and they can only be so big
Why is it good if more of us eat vegetable products?
Lower in food chain so less energy wasted allowing more population to feed to reduce malnourishment
What is useful about pyramids of energy?
Can compare to previous years to see state of the ecosystem
What must not be forgotten in pyramids of energy? What energy percentage do they have?
Detritivores and saprotrophs fed by all trophic levels and have 24.2% roughly
What units are used for pyramids of energy?
kJ m-2 y-1
Kilojoules per square metre per year
What sort of supply of energy are in ecosystems?
Continuous
