BTHS Rickey Mei

Environmental Science 11/14/04

HW #4

1) Draw a food web containing organisms found in a Chesapeake Bay salt marsh.

Why do we begin our study of environmental science with basic ecological principles
that govern the natural world? Why, for example, is it important to know about energy
flow through ecosystems?

Is planet Earth an open or closed system? Explain your answer.

How are the following forms of energy significant to organisms in ecosystems (a)
radiant energy,(b) mechanical energy. (c) Chemical energy, (d) heat?

What is the simplest stable ecosystem that you can imagine?

Could a balanced ecosystem be constructed that contained only producers and
consumers? Only consumers and decomposers? Only producers and decomposers?
Explain the reason for your answers.

Why do deep-sea organisms cluster around hydrothermal vents? What is their energy
source?

Why is the concept of a food web generally preferred over that of a food chain?

Suggest a food chain that might have an inverted pyramid of numbers- that is, greater
numbers of organisms at higher trophic levels than at lower trophic levels.

Is it possible to have an inverted pyramid of energy? Why or why not?

Relate the pyramid of energy to the second law of thermodynamics.

The NPP for a particular river ecosystem is measured at 8833 kcal/m²/year. Calculate
the GPP for this ecosystem.

Graph the information given in Table 4-1 on page 80. Would it be more appropriate to
construct a line graph or a bar graph? Why?

Biotic- living
Abiotic- non living, physical
Ecology- study of the interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
abiotic environment.
Populations- members of the same species that live together in the same area at the
same time.
Species- group of similar organisms whose members freely interbreed with one
another in the wild to produce fertile offspring.
Community- consists of all the populations of different species that live and interact
together within an area at the same time.
Ecosystem- a community together with its physical environment.
Landscape ecology- relatively new sub-discipline in ecology that studies the
connections among ecosystems found in a particular region.
Estuary- semi-enclosed bodies of water found where fresh water from a river drains
into the ocean.
Biosphere- all of earth’s communities of organisms are organized in the biosphere.
Atmosphere- the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth.
Hydrosphere- the earth’s supply of water- liquid and frozen.
Lithosphere- the soil and rock of earth’s crust.
Kilojoules- units of work.
Heat energy- unit of energy.
Potential energy- stored energy.
Kinetic energy- the energy of motion.
Thermodynamics- the study of energy and its transformation.
Closed system- a system that does not exchange energy or matter with its
surrounding.
Open system- exchange of energy with its surrounding.
First law of thermodynamics- energy cannot be created or destroyed.
Second law of thermodynamics- whenever energy is converted, some energy is lost
in a less usable form.
Entropy- measure of disorder or randomness.
Photosynthesis- the biological process in which light energy from the sun is captured
and transformed into the chemical energy of carbohydrates molecules.
Chlorophyll- photosynthetic pigments.
Cell respiration-chemical energy that plants store in carbohydrates and other
molecules is released within cells of plants, animals, or other organisms.
Energy flow- the passage of energy in a one-way direction through an ecosystem.
Producers- autotrophs
Autotrophs-producers
Consumers-use the bodies of other organisms as a source of food energy and body
building materials.
Heterotrophs-consumers
Primary consumers-consumers that eat producers are called.
Herbivores-only feeds on producers.
Secondary consumers-eat primary consumers.
Tertiary consumers-eat secondary consumers.
Carnivores-animals that eat other animals.
Omnivores-animal that eat animals and producers.
Detritus feeders-consumers that eat organic matter.
Detritivores- consumers that eat organic matter.
Detritus-organic matter such as animal carcasses, leaf litter, and feces.
Decomposers-are microbial heterotrophs that break down dead organic material and
use the decomposition products to supply themselves with energy.
Saprotrophs- are microbial heterotrophs that break down dead organic material and
use the decomposition products to supply themselves with energy.
Food chains-energy flow from on organism to the next in a sequence.
Food web-A complex interconnected food chain in an ecosystem.
Trophic level-each level, or “link”, in a food chain or food web is a trophic level.
Ecological pyramids-graphically represent the relative energy values of each trophic
level.
Pyramid of numbers-the number of organisms at each trophic level in a given
ecosystem, with greater numbers illustrated by a larger area for that section of the
pyramid.
Pyramid of biomass-illustrates the total biomass at each successive trophic level.
Biomass-quantitative estimate of the total mass, or amount, of living material; it
indicates the amount fixed energy at a particular time.
Pyramid of energy-illustrates the energy content, often expressed as kilocalories per
square meter per year, of the biomass of each trophic level.
Gross primary productivity-of an ecosystem is the rate at which energy is captured
during photosynthesis.
Net primary productivity-energy that remains in plant tissues after cell respiration
has occurred is called net primary productivity.