Energy and Nutrient Flow within Ecosystems
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What is the difference between energy flow and nutrient flow?
While nutrients have been circling for centuries, energy takes a one-way journey and is eventually converted to heat
Energy enters the ecosystem through__________
photosynthsis
What is the rate at which plants conduct energy per year?
kJ m–2 year–1
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) is
the rate at which ecosystem producers convert solar energy into chemical energy as biomass
What is Net Primary Productivity (NPP)?
the rate at which producers use photosynthesis to store energy - rate which stored energy is released through respiration
What is the role of detrivores and decomposers?
to release nutrients for reuse
What do the ecological pyramids represent?
the productivity at each trophic level of an ecosystem
What are the three types of ecological pyramids?
pyramid of numbers pyramd of biomass pyramid of energy
What does the pyramid of numbers represent?
the number of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem, with the exclusion of biomass and energy transfer at each trophic level
What does the pyramid of biomass represent?
the biomass of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem, with the exclusion of the energy transferred through trophic levels.
What is biomass?
an estimate of the total dry mass of living material at each trophic level
What does the pyramid of energy represent?
the energy content of biomass at each trophic level. The exact pyramid shape is always achieved. (measured in kilocalories per square meter per yr)
True or False: Energy transfer through trophic levels is efficient
False it is inefficient
what is Lindeman’s Ten Percent Law?
Only 10% of the energy is stored and available to organisms at the next trophic level. The rest is lost as heat.