2.1: Levels of Ecology
- Page ID
- 25422
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Ecology covers a vast range of topics and can be viewed on multiple levels. One level is that of the individual organism— a single bacterium, an individual wolf pup. This includes individual behavior and physiology, with behavior as part of ecology. Population ecology covers groups of organisms of the same species—a bison herd or a grove of maples. Community ecology looks at how different populations interact, and the communities examined can be quite large. Above this level is ecosystem ecology, which examines how different communities interact with their environments. Finally, there is global ecology—ecology of the planetary ecosystem.
| Individual ecology | Single organisms, behavior, and physiology |
| Population ecology | Groups of organisms from a single species |
| Community ecology | Populations of interacting species |
| Ecosystem ecology | Multiple communities and the environment |
| Global ecology | The planet as a biosphere |
