<p>Name Class Date </p><p>3.1 What Is Ecology?</p><p>Lesson Objectives Describe the study of ecology. Explain how biotic and abiotic factors influence an ecosystem. Describe the methods used to study ecology.</p><p>BUILD Vocabulary A. The chart below shows key terms from the lesson with their definitions. Complete the chart by writing a strategy to help you remember the meaning of each term. One has been done for you.</p><p>Term Definition How I’m Going to Remember the Meaning Abiotic factor Any nonliving part of the environment</p><p>Biome A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and types of organisms</p><p>Biosphere Consists of all life on Earth and all parts of the Earth in which life exists</p><p>Biotic factor Any living part of the environment</p><p>Community A group of different populations that live together in a defined area</p><p>Ecology The scientific study of the interactions The prefix eco- means between organisms and between organisms “environment” and the and their surroundings suffix -ology means “ the study of”. Ecosystem All of the organisms that live in a place, together with their physical environment</p><p>Population A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area</p><p>B. As you work through this lesson, you may find these terms in the activities. When you need to write a key term or definition, highlight the term or the definition.</p><p>28 Name Class Date </p><p>BUILD Understanding Venn Diagram A Venn diagram is made up of overlapping circles. It is a useful tool for comparing two or even three topics.</p><p>Use the Venn diagram to compare biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) factors in the environment. Use examples from the lesson.</p><p>CHAPTER MYSTERY</p><p>Changes in the Bay People that live around the bay are noticing lots of changes in the plant and animal life.</p><p>Reread the mystery and all the clues. Draw a poster that shows the types of abiotic and biotic factors at work in the bay. In the space below, draw a sketch to show what your poster will look like.</p><p>29 Name Class Date </p><p>Studying Our Living Planet Levels of Organization Ecologists ask many questions about organisms and their environments. Some ecologists study individual organisms. Others study how organisms interact with and influence the global environment.</p><p>Use the words in the box to label each level of organization in the diagram.</p><p> biome community individual biosphere ecosystem population</p><p>Answer the questions. 1. Which level of organization contains all of the organisms of one species that live in a certain area? 2. What is the highest level of organization studied by ecologists? 3. A group of populations is called a(n) 4. Which includes animals of different species living together? Circle the correct answer. Population community 5. A pond with all of its many species of creatures living together in this one location would be a good example of a(n) A. population. C. biosphere. B. community. D. organism.</p><p>30</p>