Science.7.12.B

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The student is expected to describe how ecosystems are sustained by the continuous flow of energy and the recycling of matter and nutrients within the biosphere.
1666 TEKS header image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Organisms and environments. The student understands that ecosystem are dependent upon the cycling of matter and the flow of energy.

the system on Earth that contains all the living things below, on the surface, above the ground, and in the water and the biotic and abiotic factors required for life; made of all the ecosystems on Earth

to be influenced or determined by or subject to something or someone else; reliant on something or someone else for support

the biotic and abiotic resources provided to support specific populations in a community

Research

Loreau, Michel. “Material Cycling and the Stability of Ecosystems.” The American Naturalist 143, no. 3 (1994): 508–513. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2462743

Summary: This article explores the complexities of explaining ecosystem stability in closed and open systems. Mathematical models are presented to quantify the inputs and outputs within the systems.