Topic 8.2 - Energy Flows Through Ecosystems 𖦹⋆｡°✩ Flashcards
what strategies do organisms use to regulate body temperature and metabolism
༻ endotherms use thermal energy generated by metabolism to maintain homeostatic body temperature
༻ ectotherms lack efficient internal mechanisms to regulate body temperatures such as relying on behaviours to regulate temperature
what is metabolic rate
the amount of energy expanded by an animal over a specific amount of time
what can a net gain in energy result in
in energy storage or growth
what can a net loss in energy result in
in loss of mass and possible death
what is the relationship between mass and metabolism
the smaller the organism, the higher the metabolic rate
how do different organisms use reproductive strategies in response to energy availability
༻ some species produce many offspring at once (less energy-efficient but more common in unstable environments)
༻ some species produce few offspring at one time (more energy-efficient, more common in stable environments)
what affects do changes in energy availability have on an environment
༻ can result in changes in population size
༻ can result in disruptions to an ecosystem
༻ can affect the number and size of the trophic levels
what is a trophic level
a position an organism occupies in a food chain
what can a change in the producer level affect
the number and size of other trophic levels
what is a food chain
shows the direction of nutrient and energy transfer from one organism to another
what do trophic levels reflect
how many energy transfers separate an organism from the producer
what is a food web
consists of many interconnected food chains
how efficient is the transfer of energy between trophic levels
inefficient, about 10% efficient
how does energy inefficiency limit the food chain
limits the length of food chains and the size of populations. typically, population size decreases up trophic levels
what are autotrophs
organisms that capture energy from physical or chemical sources in the environment
