Part 8 - Introduction

| The Interactions of Life: Ecology

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Prior to embarking on this simulation, you should know the following terms: population, community, ecosystem, food chain, food web, energy pyramid, and primary productivity.

When you are finished with the simulation, you should be able to explain the following:
• How feeding relationships are interactions between populations
• How species diversity relates to energy availability and transfer within an ecosystem.

How is energy balance maintained in the feeding relationship within an ecosystem?

You have been employed as a wildlife refuge manager. In this position it is necessary for you to determine the appropriate population of each species on the refuge to maintain a healthy, sustainable ecosystem within the refuge. Your decisions will determine whether a diversity of species will be sustainable within the refuge.