Ecosystems CD
Introduction
The chickaree lives in the forests of the Sierra Nevada and eats pine
.
Animals depend on the plants of the forest for
as well as for food.
Some plant seeds are dispersed by clinging to the
of animals, or in the
tracts of animals.
The pattern of interactions among organisms and their environment is called a(n)
.
The living or biotic part of an ecosystem is called a(n)
.
Through
, trees and other plants convert the energy of sunlight into the energy of
bonds.
The green plants are thus the
of the ecosystem.
In contrast to the plant producers, the deer and mountain lion are
.
Organisms which break down and recycle materials in wastes and dead bodies are called
.
Producers are often called
- they make their own food; consumers and decomposers are called
- they get their food from other organisms.
Section I: Trophic Structure
A butterfly is an example of a
consumer in the trophic pyramid.
The hawk is a
consumer if it eats an insect-catching bird.
consumers are also called herbivores.
In a forest ecosystem, the insects outnumber the trees, so the pyramid of
is partially inverted.
The pyramid of
may sometimes seem inverted if producers have a higher reproductive rate than consumers.
The pyramid of
is always upright, since the number of calories always
as one goes up each level.
Section II: Energy Flow
Energy enters most ecosystems in the form of
radiation, and leaves as
.
Because energy passes through the ecosystem and is not reused, the ecosystem is said to be a(n)
system with regard to energy.
A mouse is about
% efficient at turning cheese into cat food.
Most food chains contain
or fewer links.
Plants convert about
% of solar energy into food for grasshoppers and mice.
Energy
occurs when energy leaves an ecosystem, while energy
occurs when energy is introduced into an ecosystem.
Our
fuel reserves are composed of stored production energy from ecosystems of the past.
Section III: Materials
In photosynthesis,
and
are combined to form glucose.
The compounds from photosynthesis are broken down by respiration, where energy is release, and
and
are re-formed.
With regard to materials, the ecosystem is a
system.
Carbon moves from the
pool to the
pool in photosynthesis, and is transferred from the biotic pool back to the
pool when CO
2
is released as a product of respiration.
The carbon trapped in ancient sediments makes up the
pool, which cycles slowly under natural conditions.
Tropic forests undergo
recycling of materials, while fir forests undergo
recycling.
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps solar energy, keeping the earth warm - the so-called
effect.
Copper and cobalt are needed in only tiny amounts as
of certain enzymes.
Only a few kinds of microorganisms can use N
2
gas directly, through the process of biological nitrogen
.
In an ecosystem, energy movement is always
-way, while materials are always
, recycled over and over.
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Nov 6, 2013