Living Things and the
Environment
EQ: How do I define the various
levels of an ecosystem?
Ecology
• The study of how living things interact with
each other and their environment
EQ: How do I define the various levels of an
ecosystem?
Ecosystem
• All the living and
nonliving things that
interact in a
particular area
• May contain many
habitats
– Forest ecosystem
• Mushrooms grow in
damp soil
• Bears live on forest
floor
• Termites live in fallen
tree trunk
EQ: How do I define the various
levels of an ecosystem?
Ecosystem Organization
• Single
organism –
smallest
unit in an
ecosystem
• Population
• Community
• Community
+ Abiotic
Factors =
Ecosystem
EQ: How do I define the various levels of an
ecosystem?
Habitats
• A place where an organism lives
• Organisms
EQ: How do I
define the
various levels
of an
ecosystem?
– Living thing
– Obtains food, water, shelter, and other things
it needs to live, grow and reproduce from its
surroundings
Habitats
• Organisms live in different habitats
because they have different requirements
for survival
EQ: How do I define the various
levels of an ecosystem?
Biotic Factors
• The living things an organism interacts
with in its environment
EQ: How do I define the various levels of an
Communities
• All the different
populations that
live together in one
area
EQ: How do I define the
various levels of an
ecosystem?
Abiotic Factors
• Non living things in an ecosystem
– Water
– Sunlight
– Oxygen
– Temperature
– Soil
EQ: How do I define
the various levels of
an ecosystem?
Populations
• All members of one
species in a
particular area
– All daisies in a field
– All pigeons in NYC
• Area in which a
population lives
may be as small as
a blade of grass or
as big as an ocean
EQ: How do I define the various levels of an
ecosystem?
Class Work and Homework
• Fill In
– What did I learn
– Confused
– Say
Read pages E 16 – E 21
1- 1 Review and Reinforce
1-1 Enrich
EQ: How do I
define the
various levels of
an ecosystem?