Ecology studies the relationships between organisms and their environment. It has several levels of organization: - Organism: individual living thing - Population: all individuals of the same species in an area - Community: all populations that live together in an area - Ecosystem: the community plus physical factors like climate - Biome: a large area defined by climate and characteristic plant and animal species - Biosphere: the part of Earth that supports life Biotic factors include living things like plants and animals. Abiotic factors include non-living things like climate, soil, and sunlight. Ecology is studied through observation, experimentation, and modeling relationships.

1. Levels of Ecological Organization

2. the study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in environments eco (G) root home, abode eco climate eco system eco tourism log, -o, y (G) suffix study of zo ology epidemi ology climat ology Ecology Eco logy

3. LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION Organism – individual, living thing Population - all the individuals of the same species (like mallard ducks) in an area

4. A population is always composed of same-species organisms

5. Community - all the populations that live together in an area

6. Ecosystem - the community plus the physical factors in an area (rain, light, soil..) Examples: Rotting Log Koi Pond Lake Clump of Dirt A field An old maple tree

7. Biome - large area that has a particular climate , with certain species of plants and animals living there (e.g., tundra or grassland)

8. Biosphere - the part of the earth that supports life

9. Biotic Factors Bio bio(s), bio(t) (G) root life include plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms bio logy bio statistics bio graphy bio technology bio sphere bio mechanics biot ic bio feedback

10. Examples of Biotic Factors

11. Abiotic Factors include air, water, soil, temperature, wind, source of energy (usually sun) A a, an (G) prefix not, without a toxic a moral a biotic a musia

12. Examples of Abiotic Factors

13. Ecological methods - how do we study ecology? Observing Experimenting Modeling Models are created by humans to make predictions.

14. Sometimes, you must be cautious in how a model interprets data.... Imagine graphing a person's height as they age. One could predict that by the time they were age 30, they would be 22 feet tall. However, the model would need to account for the slowing of growth after adolescence.

15. McLaren, James E, and Rotundo, Lisa (1985). Heath Biology. D. C. Heath and Company. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language , Third Edition. (1992). Houghton Mifflin Company. Arms. (1996). Environmental Science . Orlando,Florida: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Bibliography