Transcript Ecology

Ecology
Chapter 2 Section 1
pp. 34-45
What is Ecology
• Ecology is the study of the interactions
between organisms (living things) and the
environment.
– Environment: an organisms surroundings
including all of the living (biotic) and non living
(abiotic) things
• Ecology is interdisciplinary-Think of what
would be involved in a study of global
warming?
Abiotic vs Biotic
• Abiotic
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Temperature
Soil type
Water
Sunlight
Rocks
Geology
Air currents
Water currents
• Biotic
– Other animals and
plants
– Living organisms
affect other living
organisms
– Organisms compete
for resources
The Environment
• To make studying ecology easier, the
environment is organized into different
sized parts
– Organism
– Population
– Community
– Ecosystem
– Biosphere
The Environment: Organism
• Smallest Level of Organization
• An Organism is a single living individual
• Organism is a term used to describe a
living thing
• Organisms occupy a niche in the
environment
Niche
• All of the strategies, and adaptations used
by an organism to survive in its
environment
• Different organisms have different niches
– Allows organisms to live in the same
environment with reduced competition
– Resources used differently by different
organisms
– Pg. 42-43 in your book
The Environment: Population
• A group of organisms of the same SPECIES that
live together in the same area
– What is a species?
• Individuals in a population compete for
resources
– 1. Can you think of examples of resources?
– 2. What do you think happens when there are plenty
of resources or not enough resources?
– 3. How can competition for resources be reduced?
The Environment: Communities
• Larger than populations
• Contain many different populations
(different groups of species) living in a
given area
• Different populations in a community
depend on each other for resources
The Environment: Ecosystems
• Made up of the Community plus the abiotic
factors in a given area
– What types of things do you think a person
studying an ecosystem would study
– What are some examples of different
ecosystems?
The Environment: The Biosphere
• The part of the Earth where life exists
– High in the atmosphere to the deepest parts
of the ocean