LS 7B 47.5 Ecosystems

What is generally true about biomass and energy as we move from one trophic level to the next?

Not all energy is transferred to the next trophic level.

While food chains show linear energy transfer between organisms, food webs depicts more realistically what occurs in an ecosystem.

True

What is the difference between a community and an ecosystem?

a community is the set of organisms that live in a given place. a community together with the physical environment in which the organisms live constitutes an ecosystem

ecosystem

a community of organisms and the physical environment it occupies

trophic pyramids

a diagram that traces the flow of energy through communities, showing the amount of energy available at each level to feed the next. the pyramid shape results because biomass and the energy it represents generally decrease from one trophic level to the next

food web

a map of the interactions that connect consumer and producer organisms within the carbon cycle; the movement of carbon through an ecosystem

decomposer

an organism that breaks down dead tissues, feeding on the dead cells or bodies of other organisms

consumers

an organism that obtains the carbon it needs for growth and reproduction from the foods it eats and gains energy by respiring food molecules; heterotrophic organisms of all kinds that directly consume primary producers or consume those that do

trophic level

an organism's typical place in a food web as a producer or consumer -first trophic level = primary producers -levels above first = consumers -highest trophic = apex predators

Which group in a food web is responsible for returning inorganic compounds back to the environment?

decomposers

A(n) __ is a community of organisms and the physical environment it occupies.

ecosystem

A __ depicts the flow of carbon through an ecosystem, whereas a __ depicts the transfer of energy.

food web, trophic pyramid

species interactions result in food webs that cycle carbon and other elements through ecosystems

interactions like predation are considered a link in the carbon cycle

Organisms that take up inorganic nutrients and convert them to organic molecules such as carbohydrates and proteins are called:

primary producers

The broadest level in a trophic pyramid is primarily composed of:

primary producers

primary producers

take up inorganic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other compounds from the environment and convert them biochemically into proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and more

food chain

the linear transfer of carbon from one organism to another

Liebig's Law of the Minimum

the principle that primary production is limited by the nutrient that is least available relative to its use by primary producers

Energy flow through ecosystems can be depicted using a(n):

trophic pyramid

species interactions form trophic pyramids that transfer energy through ecosystems

unlike carbon, energy does not cycle through an ecosystem so new energy must continually be harvested from the environment to sustain the community