What is Ecology? Ecology is the study of living things in their environment, or natural surroundings.

This is everything biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) that is around them. All living things are affected by their environment and have an effect on their environment. The word ecology comes from a Greek word, meaning the study of homes. This refers to the home or surroundings in which an organism (living thing) lives. *Discuss ways in which you affect your environment and your environment affects you* Importance All living things need materials to live. These materials come from the environment. Organisms get nutrients, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and energy from their environments. Nutrients are used for growth, repair, and energy. Plants get their nutrients and water from the soil. Plants take in carbon dioxide from the air. They obtain energy directly from the sun. Sunlight is the source of energy that fuels most life on Earth. They then use sunlight and carbon dioxide to make food for energy. Animals get nutrients and energy from eating plants. Some animals also obtain energy by eating other animals. Many animals get their oxygen from the air. Aquatic animals with gills get their oxygen from the water. All living things need and use water. Interactions Start with any habitat (natural home) of an organism. The group of animals and plants that live there make up a community. Lift up a stone, and you will most likely find a spider, centipede, woodlouse, or earthworm. These are all a part of the stone habitat. Together, they make up a community. The stone may lie next to a pond and become part of the pond community. The pond may be in a forest and be part of the woodland community. Smaller habitats are usually a part of bigger habitats. The organisms interact or act upon each other and the nonliving parts of the environment. Waste that is produced by the animals enriches the soil. This helps the plants grow and thrive in the community. As you see, everything is connected and stretches into a vast web. When the community is healthy, it is stable and balanced. Write the term that best completes each statement. Use the following words: HABITAT BIOTIC ABIOTIC ECOLOGY ORGANISM 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The study of living things and their environment is _______________________. The __________________ factors are the living things in the environment. The __________________ factors are the nonliving things in the environment. A ___________________ is the natural home of an organism. An _______________________ is any living thing, plant or animal. Identifying Biotic and Abiotic Factors Lab Station Activity Objective: Distinguish between biotic and abiotic factors. Background:

The environment is everything around us. Environments can be natural or human made (for instance a forest or a city). Environments can have different sizes depending on the scale you are focusing on (like the environment inside a bottle or the environment around a river). Environments may be human made or natural. An example of a human made environment is a school. Any group of living and nonliving things interacting with each other can be considered as an ecosystem. Everything in an ecosystem is dependent upon everything else nothing can exist alone. An ecosystem is made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. Biotic factors include anything that is living, was once-living or is a product of something living. Abiotic factors are nonliving things in the environment. Take the classroom as an example; it is made of desks, a floor, and lights (all abiotic things). It also contains living (biotic) things such as students, teachers and maybe a pet. All of these things depend on one another there can be no class without a teacher, the teacher cannot function if there are no students. The students and teacher need light and pencils and desks to function and so on. Data Table for Identifying Objects as Biotic or Abiotic Station # 1 2 3 4 5 6 Object Name Rock Leaf Water (temperature) Sand Plant Fish Is it abiotic or biotic? Explain why.

Choose an object in the classroom environment that you are in, which is not listed above. Name of the object: ________________ Is it biotic or abiotic? _________________ Why? __________________________________________________________