Ecology NOTES: Flow of Energy & Human Impact

Where does most of the energy in an ecosystem originate from?

The ___________ is the main energy source for life on earth!

How do organisms get their energy?

There are 2 ways:

Autotrophs: Organism that captures energy from __________________ or inorganic

substances to produce its own food; also called producers.

Heterotrophs: Organism that cannot make its own ____________ and gets its
nutrients and energy requirements by feeding on other organisms; also called consumers.

What are 6 different types of consumers?

Herbivores: Eat ____________ Carnivores: Eat Meat

Omnivores: Eat _______________ & _____________ Detritivore:
Eat organic matter/poop – detritus Scavenger: Eats animals that are already
_______________. Decomposers: Breaks down all the rest (bones, feathers, dead
trees…)

What is the difference between a food chain & food web?

Food Chain: A simple model that shows how ____________ flows through an ecosystem.

Food Web: A model representing the MANY interconnected ____________________ and pathways in which
energy flows through a group of organisms.

What are trophic levels?

Each ___________ in a food chain/web is called a trophic level.

Examples of Producers: __________________________________

Primary consumers are all ______________________ Examples: __________________

Examples of Secondary consumers: ___________________________________________

Examples of Tertiary consumers: _____________________________________________

What are ecological pyramids?

Ecological Pyramid: Another model used to show how energy _______ through ecosystems.

Can show:

● Amount of ____________ ● Amount of ____________ ● Number of organisms

Biomass: The total ___________ of living matter at each trophic level.

What is the 1/10th Rule?

* The reason that each trophic level can support only __________ of the amount of living tissue as the level below it is
because each trophic level harvests only about one tenth of the energy from the level below.

The rest of the energy (90%) is LOST as HEAT

● _______________ ● Hunting for food

● Breathing ● _________________

● Reproducing ● Maintaining body heat

* Only _____% of energy moves up to the next trophic level

What are 4 different types of cycles in the biosphere?

Nutrient: Is a ____________________ substance that an organism obtains from the environment to sustain life.

Biogeochemical Cycle: Cycles that involves organisms (_______), geological processes (_______), and
chemical processes (________________).

4 Main Types:

___________ Cycle, Carbon Cycle, ________________ Cycle, & Phosphorus Cycle

What is the Water Cycle?

Water is constantly evaporating into the atmosphere from bodies of water, soil, & organisms.

Transpiration: When water evaporates from the surface of _____________.

What is the Carbon Cycle?

* All living things have _____________ in them.

* Carbon is in proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids.
* Carbon dioxide is used by plants to make _____________ (carbohydrates)
* Carbon is released into the ___________________ when we burn fossil fuels.
* Carbon can be trapped in the ground as coal, oil, and gas deposits

What is the Nitrogen Cycle?

* Most of the atmosphere has _______________ in it (78%)

* Organisms CAN’T use Nitrogen GAS!!...so it needs to be “__________”

* “Fixing” nitrogen, is turning it from a gas into NITRATES (___________)

Nitrogen Fixation: Process in which nitrogen _________ is captured and converted into a form plants can use (nitrates)
 How is Nitrogen “fixed”?

There are 2 main ways to “Fix” nitrogen

1. _____________ changes nitrogen gas into nitrates

2. Nitrogen Fixing ____________ changes gas into nitrates

Found on roots of Legums only!
* Peanuts * ________ * Clover * __________ * and many more…

What is the Phosphorus Cycle?

* Phosphorus is essential for _________ & development

* When organisms ___________ or ________, they return phosphorus back to the cycle.

Can there be too much of a good thing? YES or NO

Eutrophication: Occurs when _________________, animal waste, sewage, or other substances rich in Nitrogen &
Phosphorous flows into waterways, causing algae growth.

What is biomagnification?
Biological Magnification: Is the increasing concentration of ____________ substances in organisms as trophic
levels

What is an example of the use of a toxin that caused biomagnification?

● DDT: A ____________________ used between the 1940s - 1970s

● We sprayed DDT EVERYWHERE!

● DDT causes bird __________ to be brittle, and break when parents try to sit on them to incubate them

What is ecological succession?

Ecological Succession - The series of ___________ that occur in a community over time.

What are the 2 types of ecological succession?

1st Primary Succession – Occurs when there was no _________ for regular plants to grow

Examples: Volcano eruptions & glaciers retreating

* Volcanoes can create new ____________.

* No _________ is Available for plants to grow
* When glaciers retreat, they leave exposed rock…No soil for plants to grow in.

How is soil created so plants can grow in the area?

Pioneer Species: A species that will __________________ previously uncolonized land. Are organisms that
colonize barren rock or lava during ecological succession.

* They are the _______________ to arrive!

* They physically break up the ___________, extract minerals, and provide organic
 matter that will ___________________ and become the soil for later successional
species. Example: _______________

* Lichens: A symbiotic relationship between a ____________ and an ____________.

* Lichens help break rocks to form soil so that other plants can grow there later.

What is a climax community?

Climax Community: Stable, ________________ ecological community with little change in the composition of
species. This is when the community reaches equilibrium, and change very little over time.

2nd Secondary Succession: Orderly change that occurs in a place soil _______________ after a community of
organisms has been removed.

* When disturbance changes a community without removing the _____________,

secondary succession will follow.

What are some examples of secondary succession?

- Forest __________ - __________ land - Flood

- Hurricane - Logging

* Occurs after a climax community has been destroyed…soil is already there.