ECOLOGY

Ecology is the study of the interactions among living things and the environment. The environment includes other living things and also nonliving things like water and oxygen that are essential to life.

Ecosystem Community Population Organism

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION Organism - an individual species. Population - a group of the same species living in an area. Community - all the different populations that live together in one area. Ecosystem - all of the organisms as well as all the nonliving things in an area. Biome – a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms. Biosphere – our entire planet with all the organisms and their physical environment.

BIOMES

BIOSPHERE

Biotic factors are all the living things that inhabit an environment. All ecosystems are made up of living and nonliving things. Biotic factors are all the living things that inhabit an environment. animals plants fungi algae protists bacteria

Abiotic factors are the nonliving things in the environment that are essential to life. sunlight water air minerals soil heat precipitation

An ecosystem is a complex web of connected biotic and abiotic factors.

Some ecosystems, such as the tropical rainforest, have many, many complex interactions, while others, such as the tundra, have few.

Biodiversity is the variety of living things in an ecosystem.

Tropical rainforests account for 50 percent of the Earth’s plant and animal species.

Researchers have estimated that there are between 3 - 30 million species on Earth. Currently, we have identified only 1.7 million species. # OF SPECIES Bacteria.................................... 4,000 Protists (algae, protozoa, etc)......... 80,000 Animals, vertebrates....................... 52,000 Animals, invertebrates.................. 1,272,000 Fungi...................................... 72,000 Plants.................................... 270,000 Total number of described species... 1,750,000 Possible # of unknown species:..... 14,000,000 From the United Nations publication: UNEP-WCMC (2000). Global Biodiversity: Earth's living resources in the 21st century. Cambridge, World Conservation Press.

The most diverse group of animals are invertebrates. Invertebrates are animals without backbones, including sponges, jellyfish, starfish, clams, worms, insects, crustaceans, and many other kinds of organisms. Over half of all the animals already identified are invertebrates. Beetles are some of the most numerous species. # OF SPECIES Bacteria.................................... 4,000 Protists (algae, protozoa, etc)......... 80,000 Animals, vertebrates....................... 52,000 Animals, invertebrates.................. 1,272,000 Fungi...................................... 72,000 Plants.................................... 270,000 Total number of described species... 1,750,000 Possible # of unknown species:..... 14,000,000 From the United Nations publication: UNEP-WCMC (2000). Global Biodiversity: Earth's living resources in the 21st century. Cambridge, World Conservation Press.