ECO: “home” OLOGY: “study of” …the scientific study … “study of” …the scientific...
Transcript of ECO: “home” OLOGY: “study of” …the scientific study … “study of” …the scientific...
ECO: “home”OLOGY: “study of”
…the scientific study of the interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environments.
34.1 The biosphere is the global ecosystem.
Biotic Factors - “Living factors”
• include all living organisms (plants, animals, microbes)
Abiotic Factors - “Non-living factors”
• include all nonliving physical and chemical conditions (light, air, water, temperature, minerals, soil, climatic aspects)
The 5 Levels of Ecology
Biosphere
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Organisms
Individual organisms
The smallest unit of ecological study
Populations
A group of individual organisms of the same species living together in a specific area
Communities
All of the organisms of all species that inhabit a particular area
Ecosystems
Includes all of the biotic and abiotic factors in an area
Biosphere
Includes all of the ecosystems in the world
Habitats
specific environments in which organisms live
Niche• unique living
arrangement of an organism defined by its habitat, food sources, time of day it is most active, and other factors
Symbiosis• “Sym—biosis” = “Together—Living”• Definition:
–Symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species.
Who Benefits?
• Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other's expense, and in some cases neither species benefits.
Types of Interactions
• Commensalism, Mutualism, Interspecific Competition, Predation, and Parasitism are all examples of symbiotic relationships.
Type of Interaction
Effect on Species 1
Effect on Species 2
Neutral relationship 0 0
Commensalism + 0
Mutualism + +Interspecific Competition - -
Predation + -
Parasitism + -
Table of Interactions
Neutral Relationship
• Neither species benefits from the interaction
Commensalism
• One species benefits, the other is unaffected
Mutualism
• Both species benefit from the interaction
Interspecific Competition
• Neither species benefits from the interaction
Predation
• One species (predator) directly harms the other (prey)
Parasitism
• One species benefits (parasite), the other is harmed (host).