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 .