Chapter 8: Ecology and the Biosphere

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Define ecology and explain its central goal of understanding the distribution and abundance of organisms through interdisciplinary approaches.
• Identify and describe the four major levels of ecological study—organism, population, community, and ecosystem—and explain the types of questions ecologists ask at each level.
• Differentiate between biotic and abiotic factors in an organism’s habitat and describe how both influence survival, growth, and reproduction.
• Explain the role of adaptations in organismal ecology, using examples such as the woodland caribou’s physiological and behavioural traits for survival in boreal forests.
• Analyze population-level ecological concepts, including factors influencing population dynamics, such as habitat fragmentation and human activity.
• Interpret the interactions between species and organisms and their environment, especially in community and ecosystem contexts, including energy flow, nutrient cycling, and predator-prey dynamics.