Ecology-Matter & Energy Cycling

Ecology-Matter & Energy Cycling

•Ecology is the study of ______and how they interact with ______and their ______

•A relatively ______field of science

•Nutrients cycle through living and ______components in the ecosystem

•The ______and ______drive the cycling of all nutrients on earth

•Life on earth depends on the ______(sun) through the environment

•Three important cycles are

•The ______cycle

Carbon Cycle

•Carbon and oxygen are required to make ______, the energy source for all cells

•Energy from ______is stored in ______

•Carbon dioxide cycles through ______

–It is converted into ______(photosynthesis)

–______is given off in the process

•_____ is released as the sugar is broken down by ______and ______

–cellular ______

–Oxygen is ______to enable the electron transport chain

•How do humans intervene with the cycle?

–Burning ______also adds to the CO2 in the atmosphere, as well as other pollutants

–Removing large numbers of ______and forested areas

Water Cycle

•Why do we need the H2O cycle?

–Water is needed for all ______

–Every cell consists of about _____% water

–You can live for a few weeks without food, but only a few ______without water!

•Water ______from the surface or from plant leaves (transpiration)

•As the vapor cools and ______, clouds form

•When the droplets get heavy, they fall (______)

•Water can then:

•______on the surface of the land

•______into the top layers of soil

•______into deep underground reservoirs

Water eventually runs back to the ocean to cycle again

•How do humans intervene?

–Drawing huge amounts of ______

–______streets and walkways

–______forests

Nitrogen Cycle

•Why do we need the N cycle?

•Nitrogen is needed in ______-the building block of proteins

•All cell structures contain protein

•Nitrogen in the gas form is not useable by ______

•______(N-fixers) put the nitrogen into water-soluble molecules in the soil

•Other bacteria break down ______organisms and animal ______to release nitrogen compounds

•Plants take up the nitrogen compounds with their ______

•They make amino acids and eventually plant ______

•Animals eat plants and use the amino acids to make animal proteins

•How do humans intervene in the N Cycle?

•Nitrogen is mined for ______

•Fossil fuels release nitrous oxides into the ______

Food Chains and Webs

•Food chains are simple diagrams of the ______of an ecosystem

•They show organisms feeding on one thing at one ______level

•Most animals feed on different things and at different ______levels, forming a ______.

•Food webs represent several interconnected ______

Energy Pyramids

•Energy pyramids illustrate that as energy moves up through the trophic levels, energy is “______”

•The energy does not disappear, but changes into ______(heat, metabolism, indigestible fiber, etc)

•About ____% of the food energy is not passed to the next level.

•There are fewer ______at the upper levels due to the amount of energy available

•Aquatic ecosystems have more trophic levels than ______ecosystems

•There are many ______levels in the food web