13. organism and populations
Chapter: Organisms and Populations 1. Introduction to Ecology Ecology: Study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their physical (abiotic) environment. History of Ecology: Reiter: First used the term Ecology. E. Haeckel: Introduced and developed the concept of ecology. Levels of Organisation in the Living World Living organisms show different levels of organisation, from simple to complex: Macromolecules → Cells → Tissues → Organs → Organisms → Populations → Communities → Ecosystems → Biomes 2. Ecological Hierarchy Ecological hierarchy: Ecological grouping of organisms into levels of increasing biological complexity. There are four major sequential levels: 1. Organism An individual living being. Basic unit of ecological hierarchy. 2. Population Organisms of the same kind (same species) inhabiting a particular geographical area. 3. Community Several populations of different species living in a particular area. These populations interact with one another. 4. Biome A ...