FBS 36

Work

: conversion of input energy into useful transform

Food web

interlocking food transfer among trophic components of the community

Pyramid of biomass

is a representation of the amount of energy contained in biomass, at different trophic levels for a given point in time.

Production

is the creation of new organic matter

NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION (NPP)

is the food available for the living components of the ecosystem which is computed by GPP minus producer respiration ,

Reservoir (nutrient) Pool

is the large, slow-moving and biologically inert portion of the biogeochemical cycle.

Cycling (exchange) Pool

is the small but rapidly-moving portion of the biogeochemical cycle that is biologically active

GROSS PRIMARY PRODUCTION (GPP)

is the total food produced by producer community during a period of time.

Concept of Entropy

measure of disorder, chaos or system disintegration

Abiotic

non living components

Concept of Entropy

size of waste (also determined by the size of CO 2 evolution rate)

> waste:

system is under stress and efficiency drops

Food web

complex non linear eaten and be eaten proce ss

Organic substances

consist of complex carbon based hydrocarbon compounds like G glucose (C

Autecology/Population ecology:

deals with the dynamics of populations and how these populations interact with the environment; how the population sizes of species groups change over time and space.

Synecology/Community ecology:

deals with ecological interrelationships among communities of organisms;

Saprotrophs

decomposers; organisms that feed on dead organisms and products of living organisms

< waste:

efficient and stable

1. Energy

flowing in and out moves the functioning of living and non living components as integral whole.

Open system

allows both matter and energy exchange with its environment,

phagotrophs

also known as Consumers

Net Primary Production (NPP)

amount of useful glucose produced by plant community after deducting the heat energy lost during simultaneous respiration

Macrodecomposer

animals that eat detritus or litter, like earthworms and termites (Faunal Decomposer).

Physiognomy (appearance: height,

(appearance: height, stratification, taxonomic composition, structural complexity)

Ecotone

(boundaries of Ecosystem that

chemotrophs

(chemical + nourishment).

Gaseous compartment

(includes N, C, O origin of H20, O2, CO2, N2) - reservoir is air or ocean (via evaporation)

Biotic

(mode of nourishment) Living components

Sedimentary compartment

(origin of Phosphorous, Potassium, Sulfur, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, and more earth-bound elements)

Climatic

(pertains to climate

Physiographic

(pertains to elevation

Edaphic

(pertains to soil

elastic

(quickness of ecosystem to regain normal set point),

constant

(resistance of ecosystem to swing back and forth away from normal set point),

efficient

(the ability to convert energy into biomass and useful outcomes with little waste).

amplifying

(the allowed deviation from normal set point), and

3. Pattern of biodiversity

, i.e. the attribute of the ecosystem in terms of its variety of gene pools, populations and habitats.

Isolated system

-do not allow both matter and energy exchange with an environment; - movement of matter and energy is confined within the system

Ecosystem

A bounded ecological system consisting of all the organisms in an area and the physical environment with which they interact

CO2 flux

CO2 uptake of plant or plant part is measured in a closed container

chemotrophs

Chemosynthetic organisms unicellular organisms (cousins of the bacteria) capable of breaking salts and capture heat into food. These are referred to as

Chlorophyll concentration

Chlorophyll is extracted and its concentration measured.

Closed system

Closed to material exchange but open to energy flow with the external environment

Ecosystem

Community sustainably interacting with the Environment

❖Ecosystems and Biosphere

Cycling of materials and energy through ecosystems

B. Individualistic school

Ecosystem are only meeting places of FIT individuals in multidimensional gradient of factors

A. Holistic school

Ecosystem is superorganism

Concept of Energy Subsidy

Extraneous energy that makes the ecosystem more efficient and increases community production.

Biome

Formation + flora and fauna

NPP

GPP - respiration

Community Ecology

Interactions among species

GPP

Living matter + Plant Respiration

phototrophs

Photosynthetic organisms that convertis light energy to chemical energy (e.g. glucose) or in layman's terms food. T

❖Population Ecology

Population growth and factors affecting growth

O2 flux Production

Production of O2 by plants or algae is measured in a closed container

1. Energy 2. Nutrient cycling 3. Pattern of biodiversity 4. Homoeostasis 5. Stability 6. Sustainability

Properties of the Ecosystem

Carrying capacity

Rate an economically valuable biomass is harvested without significantly altering the biodiversity and ecological stability of a given renewable resource

Calorimetry

Sample of plant tissue is burned in bomb calorimeter. Energy content of organic compounds is calculated from heat energy released during burning

Harvesting

Samples of plant tissue are obtained, dried, and weighed. Dry weight of plant biomass is used as measure of production

BIOLOGICAL MAGNIFICATION

The increase in the concentration of harmful chemical substances like pesticides in the body of the living organisms at each trophic level of a food chain is called

The Residence Time of Energy

The residence time of energy is equal to the energy in biomass divided by the net productivity,

Ecosystem

The sum of all of the biological and nonbiological parts of an area that interact to cause plants to grow and decay, soil or sediments to form, and the chemistry of water to change

biogeochemical cycles

This concept refers to the circular movement (natural pathways) of essential nutrients of living matter in the biosphere

Formation

Vegetation type is determined by climate, elevation, & soil

Allometry

Weighing a small, representative sample of parts and determining the relationships between dry weight and an easily measured dimension ( e.g. diameter and height), using a logarithmic scale

Stability,

ability of the system to resist external stress

Microdecomposer

actinomycetes, bacteria, and fungi that break detritus or litter by means of enzymes to reduce them into small organic substances that could pass through cell wall

Producers (autotrophs)

producers

Sustainability

reliability of self-regulating ecosystem to sustain life in spite of stress from the environment.

Pyramid of numbers

represents the number of organisms in each trophic level

range from about 20 25 years for

residence time of energy in the forests

~3 5 years for

residence time of energy in the grasslands

only 10 15 days for

residence time of energy in thelakes and oceans

ECOLOGY

the comprehensive science of the relationship of the organism to the environment

BIOACCUMULATION

the increase of a substance (such as a pollutant) in a particular organisms

Primary production

the synthesis and storage of organic molecules during the growth and reproduction of photosynthetic organisms

4. Homoeostasis

the tendency of ecosystems to bounce back to normal stable set point after stress is withdrawn

Inorganic substances

these consist of simple chemical substances like all elements in the periodic table and their simple compounds

Gross Primary Production (GPP)

total glucose produced by plant community at any given time (is the total amount of CO 2 that is fixed by the plant in photosynthesis)

Food chain

transfer of food energy from one trophic level to the next until the food reaches the terminal or N th consumer in a more or less linear manner.

Climate regime

used in different context, but in ecology, it refers to atmospheric variables like sunlight, rainfall (precipitation), temperature, humidity and wind velocity.

Pyramid of energy

which shows rates of production rather than standing crop .