I. Ecology Organisms depend on other organisms and non-living factors in their environment for survival. Ecology is the scientific discipline in which the relationships among living organisms and the interactions the organisms have with their environments are studied. Ecologist observe, experiment, and model using a variety of tools and methods. II. The Biosphere Biosphere is the portion of the Earth that supports life. Includes landmasses, freshwater, and the atmosphere. A. Biotic Factors Biotic Factors are living factors in an organisms environment. Interactions among organisms are necessary for the survival of species in the same geographic location. B. Abiotic Factors Abiotic Factors are the non-living factors in an organisms environment. Organisms adapt to survive in the abiotic factors present in their natural environment. III. Levels of Organization The biosphere is to large and complex to study as a whole Ecologist divide the biosphere into levels of organisms to study The levels of organizations are: Organisms Population Biological community Ecosystem Biome Biosphere The levels increase in complexity as the numbers and interactions between organisms increase. A. Organisms, populations, and biological communities The lowest level of organization is a individual organism Organisms of a single species that share the same location at the same time is a population. Biological community is a group of interacting populations that occupy the same area at the same time. B. Ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere Ecosystems is a biological community and all of abiotic factors that affect it. Biome is a large group of ecosystems that share the same climate and have similar types of communities. IV. Ecosystem Interactions Habitat is an area where an organism lives. Niche is the role or position that an organism have in its environment. V. Community Interactions A. Competition Occurs when more than one organism use a research at the same time Completion is stronger when resources are scarce B. Predation Predation is the act of one organism pursing and consuming another organism for food. The organism that purses the other in the predator the organism being purses is the prey. C. Symbiotic relationships Symbioses is the close relationship that exist when two or more species live together There are three type: Mutualism both organisms are benefit Commensalism- one organism benefits, the other is neither helped nor harmed. Parasitism- one organism benefits at the expense of the other.