3. Biotic Abiotic Factors and ENERGY in Ecosystems Flashcards
(17 cards)
whats ecosystem
a community of populations interacting with the physical environment.
living components - biotic factors
non living components - abiotic factors
whats the biotic factors one
producers - autotrophs (photosynthesis)
consumers
decomposers
what is consumers?
Heterotrophic, they obtain their energy through consuming other living organisms
what is decomposers
heterotrophic, it break down dead and decaying organisms into smaller components that may be reused in the ecosystem
what is heterotrophic
A heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but not producers.
what are the biotic interactions?
producers - produce food for consumers
consumers - eat producers or other consumers
decomposers - break down dead or decaying matter material and recycle the matter back into the environment
what is abiotic factors?
non-living components of an ecosystem that can affect the biotic components
ex.
- sunlight, provide energy to producers
- water, required by producers
comparing ecosystems
an ecosystem that has poor soil, low sunlight, low temperatures and low rainfall will not support many producers, therefore leading to low amounts of consumers
how can factors like large amount of rainfall, sunlight, warm tempertures leading to?
High bioversity, as the producers have ample food sources. it lends itself to the growth of large trees
what is the main energy of the ecosystem?
The Sun, it is the primary sources of energy in most ecosystem within nature
what are producers?
they are autotrophic. An organisms that use photosynthesis to capture energy by using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to create carbohydrates
what do producers use that energy for?
They use that energy to create more complex molecules like proteins, lipids and starches that are crucial to life processes.
what is consumers?
consumers are heterotrophic organisms. they rely on the producers converting light energy into food sources that they are able to break down to fuel their interactions.
consumers are…
Herbivores - only consumer producers
Carnivores - only eat other consumers
Omnivores - will eat both producers and consumers
what is decomposers?
they are organisms that recycle nutrients by breaking down the larger compounds in decaying organic matter.
energy is not recycled; it is used by decomposers and released as heat.
what are trophic levels?
a trophic pyramid by how they obtain energy
how are trophic levels being grouped?
they grouped into trophic levels, whereby they obtain a common source of energy.
primary producers - obtain their energy from the sun and are the lowest tropic level
primary consumers - obtain energy frm primary producers and also are herbivores and omnivores
