BIO120H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Marine Ecosystem, Ecosystem Approach, Bering Sea
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BIO120H1 Full Course Notes
Verified Note
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Defn: study of how organisms interact with the natural world. Ecologists study: predators, effects on soil fertility on plant growth, spread of organisms/pathogens. Defn: group of biological entities which interact regularly, forming a unified whole functioning as an ecological context. Vary from 1 single microbe to an entire biosphere vary in scale: 1 organism, 1 population, 1 community larger scale of ecological system, 1 biosphere. **each smaller ecological system is a subset of the next larger one heirarchy formed. Dfn: fundamental unit of ecology/elemental ecological system. Bounded by a membrane/ covering allowing it to exchange energy + materials with environment (thereby interacting) defined boundary. Interaction of acquiring energy, excreting waste etc modifies conditions of eniornment. Dfn: large, complex ecological systems no defined boundaries. Include many different organisms i. e. forest ecosystem, prairies ecosystem, estuarine ecosystem little energy/substances exchanged b/w ecosystem (units) innumerable transformations/exchanges b/w organisms in an ecosystem (or anything with ecosystem)
