Chapter 3: Functioning Ecosystem Flashcards
(26 cards)
What is the main source of energy that provides energy to all plants?
The Sun
What is cellular respiration?
The process of releasing chemical energy from the bonds of glucose
What are autotrophs?
An organism that can produce its own organic compounds from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide
What is a trophic level?
A level in the food chain of an ecosystem-based on feeding relationships
What is biomass?
The total mass of living matter in an ecosystem
What is photosynthetic efficiency?
How well a producer converts light energy into the chemical energy of carbohydrates
What impacts a plant’s photosynthetic efficiency?
Availability of raw materials, sunlight temperature, light intensity, and the nature of the organism
What is the gross primary productivity (GPP)?
The total organic matter produced annually in an area by photosynthesis
What is net primary productivity?
The amount of organic matter made available to herbivores annually; equals gross primary productivity minus the energy required by the producers themselves
What are heterotrophs?
An organism that cannot convert sunlight to useful energy, and must consume other organisms for food
What is a biomass pyramid?
A pyramid diagram that shows the relative proportions of each trophic level in an ecosystem
What is a food chain?
A chain of organisms where one organism occupying a trophic level is consumed by the next organism in a higher trophic level
How much energy is passed on to the next trophic level?
10%, 90% is transformed by metabolism into heat energy and lost to the surrounding or remains as chemical energy
What are endothermic animals?
When the internal body temperature of an organism is regulated and maintained higher than the temperature of the surroundings
What are ectothermic animals?
When the internal body temperature of an organism reflects and fluctuates along with the surroundings
What is the equation for percentage efficiency between trophic levels?
Percentage efficiency = net productivity of the organism / net productivity of the previous trophic level
What are detritivores?
An organism, such as a worm, that consumes detritus, the dead tissues of once-living organisms
What are decomposers?
An organism, such as a fungus, that grows on and absorbs nutrients from dead tissues
What are the four main nutrient cycles?
Carbon cycle, Nitrogen cycle, Water cycle, and Phosphorus cycle
What is a fundamental niche?
The widest potential niche that a species could ideally occupy without competitors
What is a realized niche?
The actual niche that a species occupies, given the restrictions placed on it by interactions with other species
What is resourced partitioning?
The creative use of space and time that reduces competition between species and allows many unique ecological niches to exist in the same area
What is the competitive exclusion principle?
A key ecological principle that states that no two species can occupy exactly the same niche in an ecosystem
What is carrying capacity?
The greatest density of organisms that an area or resource can potentially support
