Intro to Ecology PDF

Intro to Ecology  Ecology 1. Ecology is the study of interactions of organisms with other organisms and with their environment 2. The non-living factors (soil, water, weather, etc) that affect an organism are known as abiotic factors. 3. The living factors (animals and plants) 4. Wh...

Intro to Ecology  Ecology 1. Ecology is the study of interactions of organisms with other organisms and with their environment 2. The non-living factors (soil, water, weather, etc) that affect an organism are known as abiotic factors. 3. The living factors (animals and plants) 4. Where the organisms live and interact is known as its habitat. A habitat may contain many different species. This is known as a community. 5. The greater the number of different species in a community, the greater the biodiversity Biodiversity is the variety of 6. Niche is the role a species play in a community job 7. A niche is the combination of: 1. An organism 2. Its habitat  Why study ecology? 1. What are the best policies for managing our environmental support system -- our watersheds, agricultural lands, wetlands? 2. We must apply ecological principles to: Solve or prevent environmental problems Levels of organization 1.Organism- an individual living thing 2. Population- All the members of one species that live in an area Levels of organization 3. Community -All the interacting species living in an area 4. Ecosystem/Biome - All living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) Levels of organization 5. Biosphere - The thin volume of Earth and its atmosphere that supports life