Ecology (Levels of Organization and Populations)

Ecology

study of how living things interact with one another and their environment

biotic factors

living parts of an ecosystem (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria)

abiotic factors

nonliving parts of an ecosystem (water, temperature, weather)

organism

single member of a species ex. a pitbull

population

all members of one species living in a particular area ex. all the oak trees in the forest

community

ALL of the different populations that live together in particular area ex. all oak trees, squirrels, wolves, other trees, owls in a forest

ecosystem

all of the abiotic and biotic factors that interact in a particular ex. all oak trees, squirrels, wolves, other trees, owls in a forest along with the water sources, the rocks, the temperature, the sun, weather

habitat

a place that provides the things organism need

niche

the specific role a population plays in an ecosystem

population density

number of individuals in a specific area

direct observation

counting the visible members of a population one by one

indirect observation

evidence of the organism are counted rather than the organism itself ex. tracks, nests

sampling

counting the number of organisms in a small area then multiplying to find the number of organisms in a larger area

Mark and Recapture

animals are first captured, marked, and released back into the environment, after some time another group is captured; ecologists count the marked animals in the group then use a math formula to estimate the total populations of organisms

immigration

new members enter a population

emigration

members leave a population

birth rate

number of births in a population in a certain time period

death rate

number of deaths in a population in a certain time period

limiting factor

environmental factor that prevents a population from increasing ex. food, space, weather, predators

carrying capacity

largest population number an environment can support with adequate food, space , mates