Ecology is the study of the interactions among living things and between living things and their surroundings.

Ecologists study nature on different levels The ORGANISM The POPULATION The COMMUNITY The ECOSYSTEM The BIOME

The ORGANISM: An organism is an individual living thing.

The POPULATION: A group of the same species that lives in one area

The COMMUNITY: A group of different species that live together in one area.

The ECOSYSTEM: All of the organisms as well as the climate, soil, water, rocks and other nonliving things in a given area

The BIOME: A major regional or global community of organisms.

Within an ecosystem there are ABIOTIC and BIOTIC factors

Abiotic Factors Factors in an ecosystem that are not living. Examples are wind, sunlight, and soil.

Biotic Factors Factors in an ecosystem that are living Examples are plants, animals and bacteria.

A change in a single factor can affect an entire ecosystem A change in a single factor can affect an entire ecosystem. A KEYSTONE SPECIES is a species that has an unusually large effect on its ecosystem.

Heterotrophs Autotrophs Producers Consumers Organisms in an environment take on several different titles. They can be…. Heterotrophs Autotrophs Producers Consumers

A PRODUCER is an organism that creates it’s own food and energy A producer is also called an AUTOTROPH. A CONSUMER is an organism that gets it’s energy by eating another organism A consumer is also called a HETEROTROPH

The flow of energy in an ecosystem is diagrammed in either a food chain or a food web The source of energy in every ecosystem is the SUN.

A FOOD CHAIN is a sequence that links species by their feeding relationships

A food web is a model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships and the flow of energy within and sometimes beyond an ecosystem

A trophic level is the level of nourishment in a food chain A trophic level is the level of nourishment in a food chain. They are demonstrated in levels in an energy pyramid

There are varieties of categories of organisms displayed in food chains and food webs. They are… Carnivores: Organisms that eat meat Herbivores: Organisms that eat plants Omnivores: Organisms that eat meat and plants Detritivores: Organisms that eat detritus, or dead organic matter Decomposers: Organisms that break down organic matter into simpler compounds.

Biomass is the measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given area As organisms are consumed, or broken down, biomass is transferred throughout the ecosystem.