Ecology- is the study of the relationships of living organisms to each other and the environment.

Ecosystem- is a fairly self-sustained system of organisms interacting with each other and their abiotic environment. Environment- is made up of the biotic and abiotic factors which surround and act on an organism. Biotic factors- are all the influences that organisms in the community have on each other, e.g. food, water, disease, predation, competition for food, water and living space with members of the same or other species. Abiotic factors- are all the non-living features of an ecosystem that influence the organisms in the community, e.g. Climatic factors- temperature, rainfall, humidity, prevailing wind, sunlight; Edaphic factors (factors connected with the soil)- pH, mineral ion content, soil depth, soil water content; Aquatic factors (factors connected with water)- salinity, currents, wave action, amount of dissolved oxygen; Physiographic factors (physical features of the Earth's surface, i.e. topography). Habitat- is the place where a particular organism lives. Niche- is the role fulfilled by a species in an ecosystem including its trophic level and the relationship it has with other species. Population- consists of members of a particular species living in a particular habitat. Community- consists of all the populations of different species interacting together in a particular habitat. Species- is a group of individuals of common ancestry that closely resemble each other and are normally capable of interbreeding with each other. Studying ecosystems: Species density- is the average number of individuals of each species per square metre. Species cover- is the percentage of ground covered by a species. (used if individual organisms were difficult to count) Species frequency- is the percentage of quadrats in which a particular species was found.