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Published byEzra Blaze Woods Modified over 8 years ago
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Energy Dynamics
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How can we measure energy flow? Indirectly with biomass Where does the energy captured go? – Reproduction – Cellular respiration – Synthesis – locomotion – Decomposers – Unavailable or Undigested food – Lost as heat
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Recycling Is energy recycled in an ecosystem? Are materials recycled? Which materials are recycled?
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Model for energy capture by plants
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How can we measure the biomass and energy of a living plant? Calculate the percentage of dry to wet mass Each gram of plant biomass represents about 4.35 kcal/gram Compare the biomass of plants sampled at 7 days and later at 14 days by graphing the results.
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Plant Productivity Gross productivity – A measure of total energy captured by a plant Net productivity – The net amount of energy captured and stored by producers in an ecosystem Primary productivity is a rate: – Energy captured by photosynthetic organisms in a given area per unit of time
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Second Law of Thermodynamics When energy is converted from one form to another, some energy will be lost as heat. Light energy → chemical energy → consumers ↓ ↓ heatheat
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Primary Productivity ∆ biomass unit of time
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Complicating Factors Living organisms have a large percentage of water in addition to the organic compounds of biomass. Organisms must be dried out. This can’t be done multiple times on a living organism. Different organic compounds have different amounts of energy.
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Proteins and carbohydrates have different amounts of energy but usually: – about 4 kcal/gram dry weight Fats – About 9 kcal/gram dry weight
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Model Organisms Flower: Brassica rapa (Wisconsin Fast Plants)
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Calculating Net Primary Productivity After determining the dry mass after a 7-day period of growth, calculate Total energy 7 days14 plants = Net Primary Productivity
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Cabbage White Butterflies: Pieris rapae
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Calculating Energy Flow from Brussel Sprouts to Cabbage White Butterfly Larvae ↗ respiration Brussel sprouts → Butterfly larvae (biomass) ↘ frass (waste)
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Data Tables and Graphs Collect all data in data tables and summarize in words in your lab report. Graph the net primary productivity of the plants at day 7 and day 14. Graph the energy transfer (kcal) from brussel sprouts to butterfly larvae over three days of feeding.
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