Biology Basics: Ecosystems, Energy, and Life Processes

To provide a source of food for the community and make its own energy.

A community consists of all organisms that share a habitat, while an ecosystem includes the community and the biotic and abiotic factors that surround them.

Decomposers rely on dead organisms for energy and provide producers with nutrients.

<p>Only 10% of energy is transferred from one organism to another.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Ecology is the study of relationships between organisms and their interactions with their surroundings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Food chains are simple, linear sequences of transfers of matter and energy in the form of food from one organism to another, while food webs are multiple food chains that show complex interactions between a variety of organisms in an ecosystem. Food webs are a collection of interconnected food chains.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Decomposers secrete enzymes that break down dead organisms, and then ingest them. Detritivores ingest and internally break down dead organic matter. Both play a crucial role in recycling nutrients and energy in an ecosystem.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The 10% rule of energy transfer states that only 10% of the energy stored in the tissues of an organism is transferred to the next trophic level, while 90% is used for the organism's own respiration and life processes. This is reflected in the energy pyramid, where each trophic level has a decreasing amount of energy available.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Autotrophs use sunlight (photosynthesis) or chemicals (chemosynthesis) to make their own food, while heterotrophs consume other living organisms to obtain energy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Labelling trophic levels in an energy pyramid allows us to visualize the flow of energy from one level to the next. The trophic levels are producers (1st), primary consumers (2nd), secondary consumers (3rd), and tertiary consumers (4th), and each level represents a decrease in energy availability.</p> Signup and view all the answers