Lecture 5 - Ecology Flashcards
Ecology
the study of organisms and how they relate to their environment (abiotic and biotic)
Trophic Level
a group of biota that eat at the same level of the food chain
Producers (autotrophs)
fix CO2 into biomass using outside energy
Consumers (heterotrophs)
eat other lifeforms for chemical energy
Photoautotrophs
plant and algae probably do >90% of energy fixation in wetlands by using sun to convert carbon to energy
Chemoautotrophs
use chemical energy to fix organic C from CO2
Consumers
organisms that consume other organism
Primary Consumers
second trophic level
- generally herbivores (eat plants)
Secondary Consumers
third trophic level
prey on primary consumers, generally carnivores (consume meat)
Omnivores
eat both plants and animals
Trophic Pyramid
a graphical representation of energy, biomass, or numbers by trophic level
- all decrease by 90% as you go up one trophic level for energy, biomass and number of organisms
Food Webs
a pictorial way to show energy/biomass flow through ecosystems
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
total producer fixation - producer respiration
- net biomass available to the next trophic level
Species Diversity
the number or variety of species in the world or in a particular region
Species Richness
the number of species
Species Evenness
(relative abundance, equitability) extent to which numbers of individuals of different species are equal or skewed
Microhabitats
small areas that are unique
Annual Plants
live for one year and die off in the winter
Perennials
often have tuber/rhizomes that persist throughout the winter
Stable Isotopes
non-radioactive isotopes of the same element
- have the same number of protons but different number of neutrons
Heavier Isotope
release more energy when forming bonds
Stable Isotope Ratio
rare/abundant isotope
Equilibrium Isotope Fractionation
occurs in reversible equilibrium reactions
Kinetic Isotope Fractionation
occurs due to the rate of a non-reversible reaction
