1.6 Summary of Week 1
In the final video of this week, Dr David Robinson, Senior Lecturer in Biological Science at The Open University, discusses what you have learned so far in this course and then introduces some of the ideas and examples explored in Week 2.
There are different ways that an ecosystem can be defined and you discussed this with other learners, to reach a working definition of an ecosystem. You examined the core concept of an ecosystem through the example of a rock pool. Guidance as to how to study ecosystems was provided through the case study of Wicken Fen.
The next part of our learning journey starts with carbon and the capture of energy from light by plants. Plants are at the base of the food chain for all the animals in an ecosystem. The familiar woodland is an ideal place to begin to understand ecosystems in more depth.
If you would like a short break or to find out more about coastal habitats and Wicken Fen visit our Ecosystems area on OpenLearn.
You can now go to Week 2.
OpenLearn - Introduction to ecosystems
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