Ecology

• Eco, from Greek oikos = family, household
• The science of relationships among living things and their environment
• Relationships (interactions) among living things and their environment
  • Abiotic
  • Biotic
• Links individual to globe
• Linked to evolution
• Global Ecology > Landscape Ecology > Ecosystem Ecology > Community Ecology > Population Ecology > Organismal Ecology

Biological Organization: Scales and Hierarchy

Ecology: A hierarchy of interactions

• Global Ecology > Landscape Ecology > Ecosystem Ecology > Community Ecology > Population Ecology > Organismal Ecology

Congo Basin of Central Africa - Dense forests (Height of Trees)

• Landscapes: interactions among ecosystems; spatial patterns
• Ecosystems: living and non-living things; the flow of energy and cycling of matter

Ecosystem and Landscape

• Community: all of the species in an ecosystem; trophic relationships, richness, and diversity (tree of life)

Community Ecology

• Population: all of the individuals in opne species in an area; demographics, density, dispersion

Clumped distribution of a population