Ecological Organization Unit 2 Lecture 1 Ecology the

Ecological Organization Unit 2 – Lecture 1

Ecology �the study of the relationships between living things and their environments �“eco” – environment or ecology �[greek: oikos = house / home – ie, Earth]

Ecology – cont’d �Includes relationships with biotic and abiotic factors: �biotic – living �abiotic – non-living � prefix “a-” means non, or not

Ecological Organization �Organism �anything which contains ALL of the charictaristics of life �Species: �a group of related organisms that can interbreed [and produce offspring that are fertile]

Ecological Organization – cont’d �Population: �a single species in a single location at the same time

Ecological Organization – cont’d �Community: �a group of ALL of the populations in a single location at the same time

Ecological Organization – cont’d �Ecosystem : �includes the community [all biotic factors] PLUS all abiotic factors in an environment

Ecological Organization – cont’d �Biome: �geographic area which has similar conditions �climate, flora, fauna � flora – plant-life � fauna – animal-life �no specific number of biomes that exist �examples?

Ecological Organization – cont’d �Biosphere: �everywhere on earth where life can exist