APES mini quiz

Calculate the amount of energy available to a tertiary consumer in the following ecosystem. 100,000. J of energy produced by plants in the ecosystem (after respiration)

100 J of energy

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

Each time energy is transferred, some of its heat is lost

Explain why a relatively large forest can only support a small number of wolves.

In a large forest, the prey population is limited by the availability of food resources. This causes the number of wolves that a forest can support to decrease because of the available resources.

Ecological Efficiency

The portion of incoming sunlight that is captured by plants and converted into biomass (Net Primary Productivity)

Respiration loss

plants use up some of their energy they generate by photosynthesis by doing cell respiration

Primary Productivity basics

rate that solar energy is converted into organic compounds

Gross Primary Productivity

the total amount of sun energy (light) that plants capture and convert to energy (glucose) through photosynthesis

Calculating Biomass & Energy

Move the decimal point one spot to the left (divide by 10)

Equation

NPP = GPP - RL

Describe the process of net primary productivity

Net primary productivity is Gross Primary Productivity minus the respiration lost.

10% rule biomass

Since energy is needed for growth and only 10% of energy is transferred from one level to the next, only 10% of the biomass can be grown.

Net Primary Productivity

The amount of energy leftover for consumers after plants have used some for respiration

Describe the relationship between primary productivity and biodiversity

The greater the biodiversity, the greater the Primary Productivity and stability of the ecosystem.

Basic trends

The higher the PP in a area, the higher the plant growth rate (more food and shelter available for animals, which means higher biodiversity)