Ecology: Organisms and Their Environments Topics

Population Growth

To understand and appreciate ecology at the community and ecosystem levels, you must first have a...

Growth Rate

Ecologists do not simply measure the absolute growth of a population. Doing this would yield a...

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)

Before moving onto other population characteristics that are of interest to ecologists,...

Reproductive and Survivorship Strategies

It may come as no surprise to you that different organisms have different strategies for...

Age Structure

Another characteristic of populations that ecologists measure is population age structure. This...

Species Interactions

With a solid population perspective under your belt, you are officially ready to take ecology to...

Competition

The first species interaction we will tackle is competition, a word you are likely familiar with....

Predation

We suspect that if you were to ask your grandma to name a species interaction, she would say "Eh?...

Symbiosis

The final species interaction we will discuss is symbiosis, or the interaction where two species...

Community Succession

Competition, predation, and symbiosis are especially important in structuring a community as it...

Ecosystem Habitats

Congratulations! You have now advanced to the third and final level of ecology, where we will...

Ecosystem Energy Flow

Nearly all of the energy that drives ecosystems ultimately comes from the sun. Solar energy,...

The Water Cycle

In the previous section, you learned how the community portion of an ecosystem interacts with...

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is likely the next most important chemical in an ecosystem. Most of the carbon on Earth is...

The Nitrogen Cycle

Even though organisms use nitrogen less than they do carbon or water, it could also be said that...

The Phosphorus Cycle

The last important chemical in an ecosystem that we will tackle in this unit is phosphorous. This...

Test Your Knowledge!

Common Mistakes

Exponential vs. Logistic Growth. Perhaps you’re still trying to figure out the difference...

Made from Trees

Human Ecology: Basic Concepts for Sustainable Development. By Gerald G. Marten. Published by...