Chapter 2 Flashcards
The system resulting from
the integration of all the
living and nonliving factors
of the environment. It is defined as any unit that
includes all the organisms
Ecosystem
The components of an
ecosystem can be broadly categorized into _______ and _________ elements.
Biotic and Abiotic
They produce their own food
and form the base of the food web
Producers (Autotrophs)
They rely on other living organisms for food
and could be divided into primary, secondary, tertiary.
Consumers (Heterotrophs)
They break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients
back into the ecosystem
Decomposers (Detritivores)
These are the living organisms within an ecosystem and can be categorized into different trophic levels.
Biotic Components
The non-living physical and chemical
factors that influence the
environment and the living
organisms within it.
Abiotic Components
Enumerate the Abiotic Factors:
➢ Climate
➢ Soil
➢ Water
➢ Light
➢ Wind
➢ Nutrients
➢ Topography
Refers to the spatial relations
of an ecosystem’s
elements.
Structure
In this zone, most visible light can penetrate this layer, making it the warmest of all layers.
Epipelagic Zone (Sunlight Zone)
Only faint sunlight reaches this zone.
Mesopelagic Zone (Twilight Zone)
Complete absence of light
Bathypelagic Zone (Midnight Zone)
It is the pitch-black bottom layer of the ocean as no sunlight reaches this layer.
Abyssopelagic Zone (The Abyss)
The ocean’s deepest zone
Hadalpelagic Zone (The Trenches)
________________, any
of the natural pathways
by which essential
elements of living matter
are circulated.
Biogeochemical cycle
It describes how energy
is captured, transformed,
and utilized by living
organisms in an
ecosystem.
Energy Flow
The energy is produced by the
______________, as they have
photosynthetic pigments to
harness the sunlight into
chemical energy via
photosynthesis.
Autotrophs
On average, only about ____________ of energy stored as
biomass in a trophic level is
passed from one level to the
next.
10 percent
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can
only be transformed from one form to another
First Law of Thermodynamics
The entropy of a system increases
over time.
Second Law of Thermodynamics
It refers
to the division of biomass
among different levels in a
food chain, which is influenced
by both the flow of energy and
nutrients from primary
producers and the
consumption of prey by
predators.
Trophic Structure
A _______________ is
defined as a position in the
food chain where organisms
are grouped based on their
feeding relationships, with
each level representing a
different stage of energy
transfer within an ecosystem.
Trophic Level
They obtain energy and nutrients by
harnessing sunlight through
photosynthesis. They
do not consume other organisms;
they are, however, consumed by
heterotrophs
Producers - Autotrophs
They derive their energy directly from
plants or algae.
They cannot make
their own food so they obtain
energy by consuming these
autotrophs.
Primary Consumers
