3.1: What is Ecology?

ecology: study of the interactions that take place among organisms and their environment ecology is hierarchal – each level builds on itself and they fit together like nesting boxes

organism: an individual life form lowest level of organization

population: group of organisms of one species living in the same place at the same time The next level is a population. A population consists of a single species living together and breeding. Give me an example of a population. Ex. large mouth bass living in Lake Meade. Beetles living under the same log. Here we have salmon spawning and two bears fishing.

community: several populations that live in a common environment Next level is a community which is several populations living together and depending on each other. What does interdependent mean? An example of a community is shown here with the bear and the salmon. They both live in a common environment and the bear needs the fish for food? How does the salmon need the bear?

ecosystem: community of living organisms & the nonliving features of their environment

biome: group of ecosystems that share a similar climate and organisms

biosphere: life-supporting areas of Earth composed of air, land, & water highest level of organization

Limiting Factor anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population includes living and nonliving features of the ecosystem

The Nonliving Environment abiotic factors: nonliving parts of an organism’s environment abiotic factors affect an organism’s life examples: air currents, temperature, moisture, light 11 11

The Living Environment biotic factors: all the living organisms found in a particular environment all organisms depend on others (directly or indirectly) for food, shelter, mates, or protection 12 12

Abiotic or Biotic? Biotic 13 13

Abiotic or Biotic? Abiotic 14 14

Abiotic or Biotic? Both! 15 15