Ecological units, comprise concepts such as

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

, and

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

as the basic units, which are at the basis of

ecological theory Theoretical ecology is the scientific discipline devoted to the study of ecological systems using theoretical methods such as simple conceptual models, mathematical models, computational simulations, and advanced data analysis. Effective models im ...

and research, as well as a focus point of many conservation strategies. The concept of ecological units continues to suffer from inconsistencies and confusion over its terminology. Analyses of the existing concepts used in describing ecological units have determined that they differ in respects to four major criteria: # The questions as to whether they are defined statistically or via a network of interactions, # If their boundaries are drawn by topographical or process-related criteria, # How high the required internal relationships are, # And if they are perceived as "real" entities or abstractions by an observer. A population is considered to be the smallest ecological unit, consisting of a group of individuals that belong to the same species. A community would be the next classification, referring to all of the population present in an area at a specific time, followed by an ecosystem, referring to the community and it's interactions with its physical environment. An ecosystem is the most commonly used ecological unit and can be universally defined by two common traits: # The unit is often defined in terms of a

natural border A natural border is a border between states or their subdivisions which is concomitant with natural formations such as rivers or mountain ranges. The "doctrine of natural boundaries" developed in Western culture in the 18th century being based u ...

(

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

, watersheds, etc.) #

Abiotic In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Abiotic factors and the phenomena associated with them under ...

components and

organism In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...

s within the unit are considered to be interlinked.

References

Ecology {{ecology-stub

See also

References