Ecology studies organisms in relation to one another and to their environment. Separate a description of a pattern from an explanation of its cause, and check what a sample can actually show.
Build your understanding
Interactions
Use the effect on each population to distinguish mutualism, commensalism, competition, predation and parasitism. Effects can change with environmental conditions.
Biodiversity sampling
Species richness and relative abundance describe different properties of a community. State which diversity-index formula you use before comparing results.
Population change
Population growth depends on births, deaths, immigration and emigration. Genetic changes in a population are related to, but distinct from, changes in its size.
Apply the idea
Two sites each contain ten species. Explain how they can have different diversity indices. Describe the abundance data and sampling controls you would need.
Study with a purpose
Read a lesson, sketch its process from memory, then explain why each step matters. Use the questions within the linked lessons to check the explanation. A correct option is more useful when you can also reject the alternatives.
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