ECOLOGY
The study of the
relationships among
__________and their
environments.
 All living things rely
on other things to
survive.

LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION
WHICH LEVEL HAS MORE ORGANISMS IN IT?
1.
2.
3.
Organism
Community
Biome
LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION

Ecologists study nature on different levels, from
a local to a global scale.
 The
levels below reveal the complex relationships
found in nature.
Organism
Community
Biome
SKETCH A QUICK PICTURE OF AN ORGANISM
Levels of Organization

Population=group of the _____species that lives in one area



Organism=individual ____________thing
Community=group of _________________species that live
together in one area
Ecosystem=______________ of the organisms as well as the
climate, soil, water, rocks, and other nonliving things in a given
area. Ecosystems can vary in size.

Biome=major regional or global community of organisms
EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
POPULATION AND A COMMUNITY:
BIOMES









Tropical Rainforest
Grassland
Desert
Temperate Deciduous Forest (This is where you live!)
Taiga
Tundra
Saltwater…Ocean
Freshwater…Lakes, Rivers, Ponds, Creeks, Streams
Estuary
BIOME MAP – CIRCLE WHERE YOU LIVE
WHICH BIOME DO WE LIVE IN?
Sun
Rabbits
Rabbits
Trees
Hawk
Trees
Water
Temperature
Ecosystem
Hawk
Community
Rabbits
Population
Rabbit
Organism
Biotic = factors
that are living
things
Abiotic = factors that
are non-living things
Biotic = Circle three from this picture
ABiotic = Circle three from this picture
An ecosystem is a complex web of connected
biotic and abiotic factors.
 All species are affected by _______________to
the biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.

 Think
about how the lack of water affects
organisms in a forest.
 Think about how a decrease in an organism’s food
supply will affect them.
 Think about how pollution affects organisms.
BIODIVERSITY
The assortment, or variety, of living things in an
ecosystem
 More biodiversity towards earth’s ___________

 Tropical
Rainforest
KEYSTONE SPECIES

Species that has an unusually large
____________on its ecosystem.
 ____of
these species can cause a ripple
effect felt across an entire ecosystem

Example: _____________________
 By
constructing dams, beavers create an
ecosystem used by a wide variety of
species
EXPLAIN BELOW WHAT A KEYSTONE SPECIES IS