Ecology

You have all probably looked at different organisms such as trees, plants, and animals. If you go on hiking, you can see flowers, shrubs, mushrooms, and maybe some squirrels. The organisms are so different in size, height, color, and countless other features. This diversity is the key to ecology, which we will learn more about. When we understand ecology, we can also understand the abundance of organisms in nature.

 

5 levels of Ecology

Ecology refers to the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their physical environment. There are five broad levels of ecology: organism, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere. Let’s look at each of these levels specifically.

An organism is the basic level of ecology. They can adapt to changes in the environment and go through an evolution. A population is a group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area at the same time. Populations can change in size, density, and structure. A community is all the populations of different species that live in the same area. In a community, populations interact with one another and change the community. An ecosystem refers to all the organisms in the same community. Finally, the biosphere is Earth, sometimes referred to as an ecological system. Global patterns can be detected at this level, and climate or species can be distributed.

There are two components of ecology: biotic components and abiotic components. Biotic components, which are living factors, include food availability, competition, diseases, parasites, and plants. Abiotic components are non-living factors. These include the temperature of the air, the temperature of water, climate, sunlight, oxygen level, pH, and salinity. As these biotic and abiotic components change, the ecosystem gets influenced.

Ecology is closely connected to us. In an ecological system, we would be considered as organisms. If we gather together, we can make a population, and even further, a community. It is important to think about how we can affect the whole community as a whole, and consider our place in the huge ecosystem.

Works cited:
OpenStax CNX, cnx.org/contents/ENnEbpkP@3/The-Scope-of-Ecology.

“What Is Ecology? (Article) | Ecology.” Khan Academy, http://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecology/a/what-is-ecology.

Eason, Sarah. Facts at Your Fingertips Introducing Biology – Ecology. Brown Bear Books Ltd, 2015.