What is ecology?

Agenda for Friday Dec 20th 1. Go over test2. Ecology Notes3. Poster

Grades posted on the wall.

Ecology Definition:The study of the interactions between organisms & their

environment

Levels of Organization - Macroscopic

1) OrganismAn individual organism (just 1!).

Habitat vs. Niche

Habitat - a place where a plant or animal can get the food, water, shelter and space it needs to live.

Niche (Job): - entire role that the organism plays the ecosystem what it eats and what eats it # of offspring

2) PopulationAll the organisms of the same species in an area.

3) Biological Community

Interacting populations living in same area

4) EcosystemA biological community and all the abiotic factors that affect it

–Biotic – living

–Abiotic – not living

5) BiomeA group of ecosystems that share the same climate and

have similar types of biological communities

Minnesota Biomes:

6) Biosphere The parts of Earth that support life:

1.Earth's crust/land2.All the waters that cover the

surface3.Atmosphere that surrounds

Earth.

So how can we simplify these levels of organization?

1)Organism = A single student

2)Population = All students in the eleventh grade class

3)Biological Community = The entire student body (9-12th graders) & staff

4)Ecosystem = The school AND the entire student body

5)Biome = All of the high schools in the school district

6)Biosphere = Earth

Levels of Organization: Activity

Directions: Work in groups of 3 - 4

Develop your own system of the levels of organization and write AND draw them

on the poster paper

Cannot be the same as the examples just given by Novak

Presentations tomorrow!