Energy Flow & Cycling of Matter In Ecosystems Flashcards
Phototrophs
Use photosynthesis
Green plants, phytoplankton, and algae
Autotrophs
Organisms which produce their own food from inorganic molecules.
Chemotrophs
Uses chemosynthesis
Deep-sea chemosynthetic bacteria
Heterotrophs
Organisms which derive energy from other living organisms (organic)
Consumers
Ingest organic matter which is living or recently killed
Primary consumer
Eat producers (herbivores)
Secondary consumer
Eat other consumers (carnivores, omnivores)
Decomposers
Derive energy from non-living matter
Detrivores
Ingests non-living organic matter (earthworms, woodlice)
Saprotrophs
Lives in or on non-living organic matter, secreting digestive enzymes into it and absorbing digestive products (bacteria and fungi)
Food chains
Shows flow of energy through the trophic levels of a feeding relationship
Tropic level
A feeding level through which energy and matter are transferred; indicates an organism’s position in the food chain.
Energy lost in trophic levels
- energy lost to detritus
- energy lost as heat (in the reactions of cellular respiration)
Energy
kJ / m2 / year
Activities losing heat energy
- food gathering
- growth, repair
- seeking shelter
- reproduction
Energy lost to Detritus
- feces
- dead animals
- dead plants
DECOMPOSERS USE THIS AS THEIR ENERGY SOURCE
Energy efficiency
Energy available at the start of a tropic level
x 100 = %
10% Rule
(Energy passed on is never 100%)
Commonly 10-20%
Numbers Pyramid
Measures the number of individual organisms at each trophic level
Biomass Pyramid
Measures the dry weight of biological material at each tropic level
Energy Pyramid
Measures the energy content at each trophic level (kJ/m2/yr)
Advantage of using biomass/energy
- Numbers are misleading
- Biomass can determine actual size
Humans eating at lower trophic level
Receiving more energy
Nutrients
- energy enters and leaves ecosystems
- nutrients must be recycled: new matter is not created!