Chapter 27
Ecosystems
An ecosystem is the interaction between all abiotic and biotic factors in an environment and can be classified as terrestrial or aquatic.…
All organisms in an ecosystem occupy a trophic level in the food chain. The lowest level consists of primary producers, which synthesize their food…
Net production efficiency (NPE) is the efficiency at which organisms assimilate energy into biomass for the next trophic level. Due to low metabolic…
Trophic level transfer efficiency (TLTE) is a measure of the total energy transfer from one trophic level to the next. Due to extensive energy loss…
The Earth’s hydrosphere includes all of the areas where the storage and movement of water occurs. Since water is the basis of all living…
Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged…
Unlike carbon, water, and nitrogen, phosphorus is not present in the atmosphere as a gas. Instead, most phosphorus in the ecosystem exists as…
Sulfur, an important element in the chemical makeup of proteins, is recycled through the atmosphere and aquatic and terrestrial environments. Found…
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a highly diverse mixture of molecules providing one of the largest sources of energy and nutrients to stream…
The cryosphere offers access to preserved organisms that persisted under past environmental conditions. In fact, these frozen materials could reflect…