Chapter 3: Ecosystem Ecology Module 6: The Movement of Energy

Ecosystems are made of biotic and abiotic components. Biotic means _____ Abiotic means ______ _______________ is the region of our planet where life resides. It forms a 20-km thick layer around Earth between the deepest ocean bottom and the highest mountain peak.

Which Law of Thermodynamics is shown in the energy pyramid below? Only 10% of the energy from one consumer is available to the next level consumer.

Photosynthesis or Respiration? Captures energy Releases energy What kind of energy is solar energy? a. Potential b. Kinetic

Producers or autotrophs = are organisms that use the Sun’s energy to produce usable forms of energy. Ex: plants, algae, and some bacteria

Glucose is a form of _________ energy Kinetic potential

Cellular Respiration = the process by which cells unlock the enrgy of chemical compounds. 2 Types of Cellular Respiration Aerobic respiration = the process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy , CO2 and H2O. Anaerobic respiration = the process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.

Consumers or heterotrophs = are incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain their energy by consuming other organisms. Categories of consumers: Herbivores or primary consumers - include a variety of familiar plant- and alga-eating animals such as zebras, grasshoppers, tadpoles, and zooplankton.

Secondary consumers = carnivores that eat primary consumers Secondary consumers = carnivores that eat primary consumers. Ex: lions, hawks, rattlesnakes. Tertiary consumers = carnivores that eat the secondary consumers Ex: Bald eagles

Trophic levels = the successive levels of organisms consuming one another. Food chain = the sequence of consumption from producers to tertiary consumers.

Food web = a complex model of how energy and matter Move between trophic levels. Scavenger = an organism that consumes dead animals.

Some ecosystems are more productive than others Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) = is a measure of the total amount of solar energy that the producers in the system capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) = the energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire. = GPP – respiration by producers.

How to determine the rate of photosynthesis? 1. Measure the production of CO2 in the dark because no photosynthesis occurs in the dark Measure the uptake of CO2 in sunlight. Add both measurements to determine the GPP (kg C/m2/day).