Ecology Key Concepts

Ecosystem

• Definition: A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.
• Includes all living organisms and environmental factors (sunlight, shade, streams, etc.).

Habitat

• Definition: An area or environment where an organism naturally lives.
• Describes the geographical area of the ecosystem.
• Example: Woodland area in the example.

Population

• Definition: All members of the same species in a habitat at one time.
• Focuses on one species.

Community

• Definition: All organisms of multiple species that coexist in a habitat at one time.
• Example: Foxes, rabbits, insects, plants, fungi in the woodland.

Niche

• Definition: The role of a species within an ecosystem.
• Example: Bee's role in pollinating flowers, rabbit's role as a grazing prey animal with high reproduction rate.

Species

• Definition: A group of potentially interbreeding individuals that do not normally reproduce with others to produce viable, fertile offspring.
• Example: Different species of butterfly in the woods that do not interbreed due to different habitat preferences.

Key Differences to Remember

• Habitat vs. Ecosystem: Habitat is the area, while ecosystem is the interactions within that area.
• Population vs. Community: Population is one species, community is multiple species.

Further Study

• Species concept will be explored more in a future video.
• Revisiting all terms throughout the study of ecology.