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3-1 What Is Ecology?
Photo Credit: ©Bruce Coleman, LTD/Natural Selection
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2. Interactions and Interdependence
Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment, or surroundings.
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3. Interactions and Interdependence
Biosphere portions of the planet in which all of life exists
land
water
air, or atmosphere
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4. Interactions and Interdependence
The interdependence of life on Earth contributes to an ever-changing, or dynamic, biosphere.
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5. Levels of Organization
What different levels of organization do ecologists study?
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6. Levels of Organization
The levels of organization that ecologists study include:
Individuals (Species)
Populations
Communities
Ecosystems
Biomes
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7. Levels of Organization
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
The study of ecology ranges from the study of an individual organism to populations, communities, ecosystems, biomes—and, finally, to the entire biosphere. The information that ecologists gain at each level contributes to our understanding of natural systems.
Population
Individual
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Ecological Methods
What methods are used to study ecology?
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Ecological Methods
Ecological Methods
Regardless of the tools they use, scientists conduct modern ecological research using three basic approaches:
observing
experimenting
modeling
Scientific methods guide ecological inquiry.
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Ecological Methods
Observing 
Observing is often the first step in asking ecological questions.
Simple or complex.
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Ecological Methods
Experimenting
Experiments can be used to test a hypotheses.
Artificial environments imitate and can be manipulated.
Natural Ecosystems – (Pros/Cons)
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Ecological Methods
Modeling
Ecologists make models to gain insight into complex phenomena.
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3-1
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3-1
The combined portions of the planet in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere, form the
biosphere.
community.
species.
ecosystem.
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3-1
A group of organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring is known as a(an)
ecosystem.
species.
biome.
community.
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3-1
Compared to a community, an ecosystem includes
the nonliving, physical environment as well as the community.
only the physical environment of an area without the organisms.
the entire biome but not the biosphere.
only one of the populations within the community.
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3-1
An ecological method that uses mathematical formulas based on data collected is
observing.
experimenting.
modeling.
hypothesizing.
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3-1
An ecologist marks out an area in a specific ecosystem and proceeds to identify the number of insect species in the area. This is an example of ecological
experimentation.
observation.
modeling.
inference.
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19. END OF SECTION