ABSTRACT
Ecology focuses on understanding the interrelationships between and among the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. Metaphorically, ecology is about the pieces of a puzzle and how they fit together. The ecosystem is the picture – or the sum of the parts – that is revealed when the puzzle pieces are put together in their proper positions. Carrying the metaphor forward, our picture is constantly changing because the complex of structures is constantly evolving over time in response to independent influences such as climate, stochastic events, and human interventions. Consequently the ecosystem is more like a very slow-motion picture than a photo, and what we see is a snapshot when we look at an ecosystem at a particular moment in time.
