| Autotrophs | Able to convert inorganic compounds via photosynthesis and chemosynthesis, producing glucose and water using sunlight's energy |
| Photosynthesis | Process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar.
[6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂] |
| Biomass | The dry-weight of all organic molecules in an organsim [expressed as g/m²] |
| Primary Productivity | Biomass produced by an autotroph |
| Gross Productivity | Overall rate of energy capture or the energy that goes into an organism before any is used |
| Net Productivity | Energy/Biomass left over after metabolic activity [Muscle gain/growth of a tree: ways to store excess after metabolic survival] |
| Heterotrophs | An organism which cannot manufacture its own food instead it obtains energy/food from consuming other organic substances [plants/animals] |
| Trophic Levels | Grouping of organisms within an ecosystem whose food is the same number of steps removed from producers
Tertiary Consumer: Secondary Predator [Least Biomass]
Secondary Consumer: Primary Predator
Primary Consumer: Herbivore
Producer [Most Biomass]
Sun |
| Photosynthetic Efficiency | Fraction of the light from the sun reaches the plant which converts it to chemical energy via photosynthesis
[50% of sunlight falls within the light range which chloroplasts can use; 50% of sunlight used for biomass]
~90% of energy is lost as heat at each consumer trophic level → ~10% of the energy entering a trophic level is available for the next trophic level [Reason for limited trophic levels: only ~0.1% of the energy in an ecosystem is converted to biomass at the top trophic level] |
| Food Chain | Diagram showing flow of energy through an ecosystem - arrow shows energy flow from one to another |
| Food Web | Many interconnected food chains |
| Energy Pyramid | Shows percentage of energy flowing onto the next trophic level, decomposers and heat/respiration |
| Biomass Pyramid | Total biomass of organisms at each trophic level |
