Course Outline 

Ecology 

Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment. Think about an organism in the wild. Is it able to survive without other species? Can it exist without interacting with the abiotic (non-living) parts of its ecosystem? What would happen if you took that organism and moved it to a completely foreign environment? What would happen if you took it to Mars?

An example of ecological relationships is a food web and food chain. You have probably studied these in science classes. For an online example see the Forest Food Web. These food webs illustrate one aspect of the importance of organisms to each other. A healthy ecosystem has a variety of organisms that play different roles. If the ecosystem loses one of its members, it can be crippled. For instance, if owls in the forest food web, illustrated above, were to die out, then rodents might overrun the area. These rodents all need food and might eat too many insects causing them to lose population. If the insect population were to plunge, what do you think might happen next?

An ecologist is a person who studies the ecology of an area. He might study the relationship between banana slugs and plant material in a forest or he might study all the relationships between organisms on a coral reef. In the following activity, you will become an ecologist studying the environment around you. Pay close attention to how organisms depend on each other for survival.

Activity: The ecology around you.

In this assignment you will be expected to go outside. If you are physically unable to go outside, try to go to where you are able to see outside and do the activity from there. Plan to spend about an hour quietly observing the area while you sketch to enable you to see organisms that might pass through.

1. Try to find a natural area near your home. If it is convenient, find an area that is still part of the native ecosystem (e.g. desert, forest, coastal grasses, etc.). If you can't find native ecosystems near your house, a yard, park, or vacant lot will also do nicely.
2. Bring paper and pencil, perhaps even colored pencils, crayons, or markers. Sketch what you see, include biotic (living) features and abiotic (non-living features). Please indicate how much area you are including in your diagram (1 square foot, one 50 foot tall tree, 10 square feet of lawn, etc.). Note that you won't be graded on your artistic ability, if you have a hard time drawing, try making a schematic sketch that shows the relationships between organisms. Make sure your sketch is well labeled.
3. Watch for wildlife, do you see insects, birds or other animals while you are there? Sketch them or make note of their presence.
4. Try to identify organisms as best you can and note where there are different species (if you don't know the names, try to be clear about differences: for example 'tall grass species A' and 'tall grass species B' gives an idea of the diversity of organisms there.
5. While there, make note of at least five interactions between organisms. Do you see organisms eating each other? Using each other for shelter? Living on or in each other?
6. Draw a food web showing how organisms you observed transfer energy. Who eats whom? Are there organisms that you think may be part of the ecosystem but that you did not observe?
7. Finally, write a paragraph explaining how you think people have impacted the ecology of the area you are studying.
8. Scan your final product and e-mail it to me, or snail-mail it to me for grading (photocopy it first to be sure it isn't lost in the mail!)

Assessment:

You will submit (via e-mail or snail mail):

1. One diagram showing the ecology where you live with a scale and labels on organisms

2. A list explaining five interactions between organisms

3. A food web illustrating the flow of energy in your ecosystem

4. A paragraph explaining the impact of humans on the area you studied

2530 Dillow Drive, West Linn, OR, 97068

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