Ecology Class Notes 2

I. What is Ecology?  A. Ecology is the way organisms (living things) interact with their environments (surroundings).  B. The part of the Earth that supports life is called the biosphere

C. Levels of Organization 1. Organism 3. Community 4. Ecosystem 5. Biosphere 2. Population

Continued… 1. An organism is a single living thing. 2. A population is a group of the same species of animals living together at the same place, at the same time. 3. A community is many different populations living together at the same place and time.

Continued… 4. An ecosystem is the community and the surrounding abiotic factors. 5. The biosphere includes all of Earth’s ecosystems.

II. Ecosystems A. An ecosystem is made up of both living and nonliving components 1. Abiotic factors are the parts of an environment that are not living

2. Biotic Factors are living things in an environment

B. Cycling of Matter 1. In an ecosystem, certain elements are finite and are cycled through the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem over and over. 2. Important matter that is cycled includes: oxygen, water, nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus.

Summary List some examples of biotic and biotic factors. What elements are recycled in an ecosystem?