Final answer:
Ecological levels of organization encompass individual organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere. Each level represents different complexities of interactions among living entities and between living and nonliving components of the environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ecology involves various levels of organization that range from individual organisms to the biosphere itself. The levels, from smallest to largest, include:
- Organisms: An individual living entity, such as a zebra (Equus zebra).
- Population: A group of organisms of the same species living in an area, like all zebras in a savanna.
- Community: All populations living in an area, such as zebras, lions, and acacia trees in a savanna ecosystem.
- Ecosystem: All living things in an area (community) plus the abiotic factors with which they interact, like a savanna which includes organisms, climate, soil, water, and sunlight.
- Biosphere: The part of Earth where life exists, encompassing all ecosystems.
Examples for each can be seen as follows:
- Organisms: A single zebra roaming the plains.
- Population: A herd of zebras.
- Community: Zebras, wildebeests, and all other populations in the savanna.
- Ecosystem: The savanna with its living and nonliving components.
- Biosphere: All ecosystems on Earth, from the deepest ocean to the highest mountain.