Ecology Chapter 2 Section 1 pp

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 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