Ecology Class Notes 2

A. What is Ecology?  1. Ecology is the way organisms (living things) interact with their environments (surroundings).  2. The part of the Earth that supports life is called the biosphere

B. Abiotic Factors  Abiotic factors are the parts of an environment that are not living

C. Biotic Factors  Biotic Factors are living things in an environment

D. 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.

E. Interactions Between Organisms 1. Habitat: The place where an organism lives 2. Niche: How the species lives, what it eats

3. Symbiosis is when different species work together. There are 3 types: a. Commensalism: one organism is helped, and the other is neither harmed nor benefited.

b. mutualism: when both species benefit c. parasitism: when one species benefits and the other is harmed benefits and the other is harmed

Summary List some examples of biotic and biotic factors. Describe the three types of relationships between organisms.