Ecology deals with 3 levels

1. Individuals:
- interactions with their biotic and abiotic environment
• Evolutionary Ecology - individuals are the units of evolution
- Assumes: specializations imposed by evolutionary history
• Physiological Ecology - individual responses to environment
• Behavioural Ecology - individual responses to other individuals
2. Populations:
- abundance/distribution patterns of groups of organisms: processes of birth, death, migration
- evolutionary change occurs at the population level
• Interactions of organisms of the same species
• Interactions of two populations of different species
3. Communities:
- interactions of multiple populations of different species
• Structure and species interactions
• energy, nutrient, chemical pathways Ecosystem Ecology
Conservation Ecology
- blend of evolution, population, community and ecosystem ecology apply to conservation issues