Download 3.1 What is Ecology?

What is ecology?
What are biotic and abiotic factors?


Biologists use the term biosphere when they
talk about life on a global scale
The biosphere consists of
All life on Earth
 Land, water, atmosphere
 Every organism (including bacteria, trees, plants,
animals, etc)





Organisms interact with each other
They also interact with their environment
A study of these interactions is called ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the
interactions between organisms and their
physical environment



Organisms respond to each other and to their
environments.
Organisms affect each other and their
environment
These interactions produce an ever-changing
(dynamic) biosphere

Humans depend on ecological processes very
much
We need things like food, water
 Other things we need are often worth $$$
 Economics is concerned with human interactions
based on money or trade



There are many levels of organization in
ecology
The first organization we will explore is Biotic
and Abiotic Factors…