Unit 3

• Types of systems

  • Open systems
  • Closed systems
  • Isolated systems
• Short wave radiation is emitted by the sun, absorbed by the Earth's surface, and re-emitted as long wave radiation back out to space
• Animals consume energy from plants, forming the food chain
• Energy and matter exchange in isolated systems

  Exchange with energy or matter
• Storages & Flows

  • Stores
  • Energy Flows
• Radiative balance: Incoming energy equals outgoing energy
• During respiration, organisms release energy stored in biomass as heat
• Gross productivity is how much energy is captured, Net productivity is how much gets stored as biomass
• Energy for building biomass comes from the sun
• Herbivores eat plants and animals, Omnivores eat any other animals
• Energy obtained from biomass can be converted into fats, carbohydrates, proteins
• Organisms use biomass for growth, reproduction, and movement
• Energy travels through space as waves at the speed of light
• Energy exchange in closed systems

  Exchange with only energy
• Albedo


  Reflectivity of Earth's surface: High albedo means more reflective surface (white), Low albedo means less reflective surface (black)
• Plants use CO2, water, and sunlight to produce glucose through photosynthesis
• Some absorbed solar energy is converted into heat and re-radiated by Earth as infrared radiation
• Biomass is what can be passed to the next trophic level
• Earth's energy comes to the ground as electromagnetic radiation with different wavelengths
• When organisms die, their biomass goes to decomposers which break down organic matter and release shared energy back into the ecosystem
• Primary producers capture energy through photosynthesis, converting light into chemical energy
• Efficiency measures how well energy is transferred to the next trophic level
• Detritivores eat dead or decaying material
• Biotic Factors

  • Predation
  • Food availability
  • Competition
  • Symbiosis
• Levels from lowest to highest

  • Species
  • Population
  • Community
  • Ecosystem
• Population examples

  • Complex Population of deers in forest
  • Fish in ponds
• Density-Dependent factors

  • Competition for food
  • Water availability
  • Organism Population
• Abiotic Factors

  • Temperature
  • pH
  • Water
  • Light
  • Wind
• Community
• Genetic Diversity
• Biodiversity
• Species

  • Lions
  • Dogs
  • Humans
• Greenhouse effect
• Dynamic equilibrium
• Stable equilibrium
• Counteractive heat
• Ecosystem Diversity
• Photosynthesis
• Greenhouse gases
• Greenhouse gases

  • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • Methane (CH4)
  • Water Vapor (H2O)
  • Nitrous Oxide (N2O)