1. What is ecology? What are biotic and abiotic factors?

2.  Biologists use the term biosphere when they talk about life on a global scale  The biosphere consists of  All life on Earth  Land, water, atmosphere  Every organism (including bacteria, trees, plants, animals, etc)

3.  Organisms interact with each other  They also interact with their environment  A study of these interactions is called ecology  Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their physical environment

4.  Organisms respond to each other and to their environments.  Organisms affect each other and their environment  These interactions produce an ever-changing (dynamic) biosphere

5.  Humans depend on ecological processes very much  We need things like food, water  Other things we need are often worth $$$  Economics is concerned with human interactions based on money or trade

7.  There are many levels of organization in ecology  The first organization we will explore is Biotic and Abiotic Factors…