Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms as well as their environment.
What comprises ecology?
1) Habitat
- the place where an organism lives
eg. redshanks(wading birds) live in the mud of the mangrove swamp, so the mangrove swamp is the habitat of the redshanks
2) Population
- a group of organisms of the same spiecies living in a specific habitat
eg. all the redshanks living in that particular mangrove swamp make up a population
3) Community
- all the populations of organisms(includes organisms of different species) living and interacting with one another in a particular habitat
eg. the mangrove community is made up of mangrove trees and other plants, animals like redshanks, mudskippers and sand flies and microorganisms living in the mud of that mangrove swamp
4) Ecosystem
- community of species and all abiotic enviornments that exist in a certain area
eg. the ecosystem of the mangrove swamp is made up of all the organisms in the mangrove community and all the physical factors that make up its abiotic environment
Factors include:
- the salt concentration of the seawater
- pH
- amount of oxygen dissolved in the mud, etc
5) Biosphere
- sum of all the ecosystems established on Earth
How are they linked?
groups of organisms interact with one another and the non-living environment to form levels of organisation that get bigger and more complex:
Poplulations ----> Communities ---> Ecosystems ---> Biosphere
