1. Biotic and Abiotic Factors in Ecosystems
Unit A: Sustainability of Ecosystems

3. Ecology
Study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment.
Can be divided into several levels: individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

4. 1. Organism and Habitat
: studying the unique living organism alone and how it survives in its habitat. : studying the individual
Example: bison in its habitat- live in river valleys, and on prairies and plains grasslands.

5. 2. Population
: studying how organisms of the same species interact and share their habitats. Eg: herd of bison and how they interact with each other

6. 3. Community
: studying how different populations in a particular area interact. Eg: bison, zebra, antelope, plants

7. 4. Ecosystem
: studying how both living communities and physical environment interact. : community and non-living surroundings : different types of ecosystems: forest, desert, grassland, marine, freshwater

8. 5. Biosphere
: the total area of Earth where living things are found and how they interact with non living : sum of all ecosystems

9. In Pairs…
Give an example of the following levels of organization in West Vancouver:
Organism
Population
Community

10. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
the living components of an ecosystem
Eg: plants, animals, grass
the non-living components of an ecosystem
Eg: temperature, humidity, rocks

12. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
Biotic and Abiotic factors are interconnected.
Eg: A tree in a woodland is a producer providing the basic unit of energy for the rest of the ecosystem. But at the same time it competes for light with other trees and may be the host to parasitic plants.

13. Limiting Factor
Sometimes, there is one factor that is the most critical in determining the types of organisms that can exist in an ecosystem.
 This is called a limiting factor.

15. Dynamic Equilibrium Abiotic and biotic factors connected.
Organisms alter the environment around them  affects other organisms.
An ecosystem that is in balance is said to be in dynamic equilibrium. This means there is continuous change, but the overall system remains stable.