EcologyEcology

Chapter 2 Section 1Chapter 2 Section 1

pp. 34-45pp. 34-45

What is EcologyWhat 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 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 EnvironmentThe Environment

• To make studying ecology easier, the environment is organized into different sized parts– Organism– Population– Community– Ecosystem– Biosphere

The Environment: OrganismThe 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

NicheNiche

• 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. 42-43 in your book

The Environment: PopulationThe 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: CommunitiesThe 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: EcosystemsThe 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 BiosphereThe Environment: The Biosphere

• The part of the Earth where life exists– High in the atmosphere to the deepest parts

of the ocean