Introduction
to Ecology
Notes
Ecology
The scientific study of
interactions between
organisms and their
environments.
Ecologist
A scientist who studies these
interactions in order to
understand the abundance
and diversity of life within
Earth's ecosystems.
What is ecology about, anyway?
• Ecology is the study of the relationships of living things to
each other and to what’s around them. So, if you are
learning about what kinds of relationships fish have with other
animals (including us!) and plants in their neighborhood, then
you are learning about ecology.
• The word ECOLOGY comes from Greek words meaning
“study of the household.” That means that ecology is the
study of the “household” of living things: their neighbors and
neighborhood.
• Ecology includes not only how living things interact with
each other, but how they interact with their physical
environment: things such as climate, water, and soil.
• Ecologists are the scientists who study ecology. They are
curious and like to learn about living things by observing
them, seeing what happens, and recording what they find.
This is all part of the scientific method.
What does Ecology look like?
Organization of Life
Biosphere
Biomes
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Organisms
Biosphere
The
regions of the surface and
atmosphere of the earth or
other planet occupied by
living organisms.
Ecosystems
Ecosystems
are dynamic
interactions between plants,
animals, and microorganisms and
their environment working
together as a functional unit.
Ecosystems will fail if they do not
remain in balance.
Communities
a
group of actually or potentially
interacting species living in the
same place. A community is
bound together by the network of
influences that species have on
one another.
Population
a
group of individuals of the
same species living in a
particular geographic area.
Organism/Species
Individual
members that form
a population.
Environment
 Is
everything that surrounds a living thing
and acts upon it. The environment is
where all living things get the materials
they need for survival.
Interact
 The
process of organisms acting upon one
another or on the nonliving parts of their
environment.
Biotic Factors
 Biotic
factors – all living organisms in a
biosphere
Biosphere – life-supporting layer of Earth
Abiotic Factors
 Nonliving
factors in an environment
Examples:
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Air currents
Temperature
Moisture
Light
Soil
Three Basic Approaches to
Modern Ecological Research

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Observing – Ecologist observe interactions
between living things and their environment.
Observing these interactions and phenomena
is often difficult because they occur over long
periods of time
Experimenting – Ecologists experiment with
setting up artificial environments in
laboratories because this enable them to
better control factors in the environment
Modeling – Ecologist use models to represent
both small and large geographical areas.
Models often include mathematical formulas.
HW: What is Ecology?

Complete the “What is Ecology?” Worksheet

A Periwinkle could be either a snail or type of
flower. In the lesson we assume that it is a snail.
A Gull is a long-winged, web-footed seabird with
a raucous call, typically having white plumage
with a gray or black mantle.

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Cordgrass, also called marsh grass, or salt grass,
any of 16 species of grasses constituting the genus
Spartina (family Poaceae). The erect, tough, longleaved plants range from 0.3 to 3 metres (1 to 10
feet) in height and are found on marshes and tidal
mud flats of North America, Europe, and Africa.
Exit Ticket
Complete
the Ecology 4square or Frayer Model
Define, Connect, Illustrate,
Write a Sentence