INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY
INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY
- · Ecology is the study of living things and their relationships to one another and the environment.
- · Living things interact with one another as well as with non-living things.
- · We refer to the living things in an ecosystem as biotic factors, while non-living things are called abiotic factors.
- · The abiotic factors in an ecosystem contribute to both the physical and the chemical environment in an ecosystem.
- · ecology: the study of the relationships in an ecosystem
- · ecosystem: an integrated system of biotic and abiotic factors
AN EXAMPLE OF An ECOSYSTEM: A fresh-water pond ecosystem
REFER TO PAGE 17 ON YOUR TEXTBOOK LABBELING OF THE DIAGRAM
ABOVE
Ecologists
generally study ecological interactions at any of four levels, organised from
small to big:
- · A population is a group of organisms of the same species that live in a defined area are able to breed freely.
- · A community is a group of different populations living in a defined area
- · The biosphere consists of all the ecosystems on Earth. It is the largest ecological unit on Earth.
DATE: 29
January 2016
Ecology
HOME WORK
HOME WORK
Lions
form part of the community in grasslands
1. Consider a grassland habitat where
150 lions live. The lions feed on plant-eating animals such as kudu, zebras and
wildebeest. The plant-eaters feed on the leaves of Acacia trees and grasses.
A. What is the size of the population
of lions? (2)
B. Describe the community that lives in
this ecosystem. (3)
C. Describe the habitat of the lions. (3)
D. Give the name of the ecosystem the
lions live in. (2)
Total 10
