Exam 20: Ecosystem Energetic

________ net primary productivity is the ratio of net primary productivity to standing biomass.

In stream and river ecosystems, the grazing food chain is of minor importance compared with the detrital food chain.

When a chemical reaction results in the loss of energy from the system, the reaction is exergonic.

The first law of thermodynamics states that when energy is transformed or transferred, part of it assumes a form that cannot be passed on any further so that entropy increases.

The amount of accumulated organic matter found in an area at a given time is referred to as

Assimilation efficiency is

Which organism is most likely to have the highest assimilation efficiency?

Ecosystems have three major food chains: the autotrophs, the heterotrophs, and the decomposers.

Net primary productivity is greater in moist climates than in dry climates.

________ efficiency is the ratio of assimilation to ingestion and is a measure of the efficiency with which a consumer extracts energy from food.

The net energy going into growth of new tissues and production of young in heterotrophs is called ________ production.

An inverted biomass pyramid may exist in aquatic systems because

Secondary production is limited primarily by

Energy from primary production that remains after respiration is called net primary production.

Explain why energy is lost as it is transferred from one trophic level to another. What are the effects of energy loss on the biomass of different trophic levels?

In most terrestrial and many aquatic ecosystems, the ________ food chain is the dominant pathway of energy flow.

How do humans affect net primary productivity? Does the affluence of a society affect how humans appropriate net primary productivity?

According to the first law of thermodynamics

________ primary production is the total rate of photosynthesis, or energy assimilated by plants.

Net primary productivity is greater in the open ocean than along the coast.