1. What is ecology? Agenda for Monday Jan 4 th 1.Go over test 2.Ecology Notes 3.Poster

2. Ecology Definition: The study of the interactions between organisms & their environment

3. Levels of Organization - Macroscopic

4. 1) Organism An individual organism (just 1!).

5. Habitat vs. Niche Habitat - a place where a plant or animal can get the food, water, shelter and space it needs to live Niche (Job): - the role and position a species has in its environment – how it meets its needs for food and shelter, how it survives, and how it reproduces – what it eats and what eats it – # of offspring

6. 2) Population All the organisms of the same species in an area.

7. 3) Biological Community Interacting populations living in same area

8. 4) Ecosystem A biological community and all the abiotic factors that affect it – Biotic – living – Abiotic – not living

9. 5) Biome A group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of biological communities

10. Minnesota Biomes:

12. 6) Biosphere The parts of Earth that support life: 1.Earth's crust/land 2.All the waters that cover the surface 3.Atmosphere that surrounds Earth.

15. So how can we simplify these levels of organization? 1)Organism = A single student 2)Population = All students in the eleventh grade class 3)Biological Community = The entire student body (9-12 th graders) & staff 4)Ecosystem = The school AND the entire student body 5)Biome = All of the high schools in the school district 6)Biosphere = Earth

16. Levels of Organization: Activity Directions: Work in groups of 3 - 4 Develop your own system of the levels of organization and write AND draw them on the poster paper Cannot be the same as the examples just given by Novak Presentations tomorrow!