Ecology Notes August 14, 2015 Bell Ringer: With your shoulder partner, make a list of all the things you can think of that are found in a pond ecosystem. When you have completed your list, indicate which of the things are living and which are nonliving.

What is Ecology? The study of the interaction of organisms 
with one another and with their environment.

The Two Parts of an Environment An organism’s environment consists of all the things that affect the organism. 
These things can be divided into two groups: Abiotic and Biotic.

The abiotic part of the environment consists of the nonliving factors, 
such as sun, water, soil, light, and temperature. Water is needed by all organisms. Sunlight is needed for photosynthesis. Oxygen is needed to carry out life 
processes. Temperature determines what 
organisms can live in the ecosystem. Soil is a mixture of rock, minerals, air, 
water, and decaying material. The type 
of soil determines the type of plants that 
can grow.

The biotic part of the environment describes living factors in the 

environment such as bacteria, protist, fungi, plants, and animals .