自然科学——生态学基本内容英文.pptVIP

Lecture 01EcologyEcology as a Science What is ecology? Characteristics of living things Levels of organization of living things Levels of organization of ecosystems Basic relationships within ecosystems – terminology Scientific logic – how we know (what we think) we know Ecology: From Greek – oikos logos = knowledge of or study of one’s home Study of distribution and abundance of living things and their interactions with each other and with their environment Ecology as a Branch of Biology – study of living things All living organisms share five basic properties: Cellular Organization – cell is basic unit of life Metabolism – use energy Homeostasis - maintain stable internal conditions Growth and reproduction Heredity living things come from living things Information for traits coded in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) Living things are organized as organisms: Atoms ? compounds ?cells ?tissues ? organs and organ systems ? organisms All living things composed of cells Not all organisms show all these levels of organization! Populations – single organisms – basic unit in ecology - fill a niche (‘job’ or function) communities - populations of many types of organisms ecosystems: All organisms living in an area, and the physical environment (habitat) with which these organisms interact. Organisms in an Ecosystem are Interrelated with Each Other and Their Environment Every organism in an ecosystem has its niche When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything in the universe.“ John Muir Review of Ecological levels of organization Individual/organism Population Community Ecosystems Bioshphere The Organism Functioning together with great precision, the organ systems make up the complex multicellular organism. Organisms interact to form still more complex levels of biological organization. Populations All the members of one species that live in the