Lesson 10: Organisms in Their Environment
In this lesson,
we will define ecology as well as learn about a few key terms used when
discussing organisms and their environment.
Ecology is the study of all processes influencing the distribution and
abundance of organisms, and the interactions between living things and their
environment.
Studying ecology involves understanding natural ecosystems and
the species that live within these ecosystems.
A species is a group of individuals that share characteristics distinct from
other groups. Robins are a species compared to blackbirds, for example.
Population is the number of individuals that
make up a species in a certain area. Population refers to the gray wolves of an
area, while species refers to all gray wolves in the world.
Biotic community includes all the life in the area from
vegetation and algae to
animals, microscopic creatures and more. Abiotic factors such as water,
climate, salinity and soil type determines what kind of biotic community lives
in an area.
An ecosystem is an interactive complex of communities and
the abiotic environment. A forest is an example of an ecosystem.
Landscapes consist of clusters of interacting ecosystems like forests,
open meadows and rivers. A landscape is on a scale that
a human being can envision.
Biomes are large areas on the Earth's surface with similar vegetation and
are much larger than a landscape.
Biosphere is the entire system of all living organisms within all ecosystems.
The biosphere includes all ecosystems on Earth.