Introduction to Ecology
Terminology
What is Ecology?
ecology is the study of the interaction of
the biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving)
things
◦ biotic = ie: plants, animals, bacteria
◦ abiotic = ie: soil, wind, sunlight, temperature
all living things interact with abiotic
factors
Biological Organization
living things are organized into groups
which interact with each other in specific
ways to form the ecosystem
an INDIVIDUAL (1 living organism) is
part of a POPULATION of organisms that
are the same
several populations will interact and form
a COMMUNITY
many communities will form an
ECOSYSTEM which will form a BIOME
Types of Ecosystems
in this class, we’ll be looking at 2 different
ecosystems:
◦ 1) Terrestrial ecosystem = land
◦ 2) Aquatic ecosystem = water
there are several more but we’ll focus on
local ecosystems (ie: schoolyard, pond)
both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
interact with each other to create a
healthy biosphere
Other Terms used in Ecology
the ENVIRONMENT refers to an
organism’s surrounding
◦ includes both biotic and abiotic factors
◦ how an organism interacts with its environment
affects its growth, reproduction, and feeding
habits
for an ecosystem to be considered
healthy, it has to have lots of
BIODIVERSITY
◦ many different living organisms
Homework
Worksheet: Review Questions
Activity: Comparing Ecosystems
◦ “Science 10” – pages 28 – 29
answer a) – m)
answer Understanding Questions #1 – 3
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