علم البيئة - تعريفات ومفاهيم

Ecology - علم البيئة

• Definition: Ecology is the study of interactions between living organisms and their environment, including physical and chemical factors.
• Alternative Definition: Studying relationships between organisms and their natural surroundings.
• Environment: All factors surrounding an organism that affect it.
• Abiotic Factors: Non-living factors, such as light (energy source), water (precipitation), temperature, oxygen, and salinity.
• Biotic Factors: All other living organisms interacting with a given organism in its habitat.
• Population: A group of organisms of the same species living and reproducing in a specific area.
• Community: A group of different populations living together in the same environmental conditions.
• Habitat: The specific area where an organism lives and performs all its activities (reproduction, feeding). Habitats can be small or large (e.g., pond, river, forest, or desert).
• Niche: The role of an organism within its habitat. This includes the organism's function, or how it interacts with its habitat.
• Example: Mangrove trees, mudskippers, sand flies, and microscopic organisms are part of the mangrove swamp community.
• Factors determining distribution: Climate and physical features of the land.
• Ecosystem components: Temperature, oxygen, salinity, light, nutrients(food).