Understanding Ecology: Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems
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- Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the living and nonliving components of their environment.
- Organismal ecology studies how an organism’s structure, physiology, and (for animals) behavior meet environmental challenges.
- A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in an area.
- Population ecology focuses on factors affecting population size over time.
- A community is a group of populations of different species in an area.
- Community ecology examines the effect of interspecific interactions on community structure and organization.
- An ecosystem is the community of organisms in an area and the physical factors with which they interact.
- Ecosystem ecology emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling between organisms and the environment.
- A landscape (or seascape) is a mosaic of connected ecosystems.
- Landscape ecology focuses on the exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystems.
- The biosphere is the global ecosystem, the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems and landscapes.
- Global ecology examines the influence of energy and materials on organisms across the biosphere.
- Four major physical components of climate are temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind.
- Biomes are characterized by their dominant vegetation types and common organisms associated with a set of environmental conditions.
- Aquatic biomes are characterized by their physical and chemical environment.
- The upper photic zone has sufficient light for photosynthesis; the lower aphotic zone receives little light.
- The photic and aphotic zones make up the pelagic zone
- Pelagic fish are fish that inhabit the water column and not the bottom.
- Examples include: tuna, sardines, sharks, and swordfish.
- The organic and inorganic sediment at the bottom of all aquatic zones is called the benthic zone
- Animals in the benthic zone include most crustaceans and marine molluscs.
- Examples of fish include catfish and flounder.
- The abyssal zone is located in the aphotic zone with a depth of 2,000 to 6,000 m.
- Both biotic and abiotic factors influence species distribution
- Biotic factors are living things.
- Abiotic factors are nonliving.
- Biotic factors that affect the distribution of organisms may include
- Predation
- Herbivory
- Competition
- Mutualism
- Parasitism
- Abiotic factors affecting the distribution of organisms include
- Temperature
- Water
- Oxygen
- Salinity
- Sunlight
- Soil
- Most abiotic factors vary in space and time
- Factors affecting the distribution of saguaro cactus include:
- Abiotic factors such as temperature and water availability
- Biotic factors such as interactions with pollinators
- Factors affecting the distribution of saguaro cactus include: