BIS 2B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Detritivore, Chlorophyll, Primary Production

• School: UC-Davis
• Department: Biological Sciences
• Course: BIS 2B
• Professor: Schmitt Johanna

Document Summary

Trade-off: the relationship between the benefits of a trait in one context and its cost in another context. Principle of allocation: all life functions cannot be simultaneously maximized. No indv produce offspring at infinite rate and live forever. Elements make up the bulk of an organisms mass (biomass) Two fundamental ways in which energy and other resources are acquired. Can live exclusively on inorganic sources of carbon, nitrogen, and other essential resources. Photoautotrophs: use energy from sunlight to power metabolism, growth and resource gathering. Primary production is a function of not just light and carbon dioxide but also nutrients and trace minerals. Heterotroph: use pre-formed organic molecules as food ( source of carbon, nitrogen, energy and other essential resources) Chlorophyll - primary light harvesting pigment of green plants. Not absorbing all visible light just light with high and low pigments, which is why leaves look green.