Privodyatsya osnovnye svedeniya o zakonakh formirovaniya okruzhayushchey sredy, vzaimootnosheniyakh organizmov na vsekh urovnyakh mezhdu soboy i s okruzhayushchey sredoy. Opisyvaetsya struktura populyatsiy, ekosistem, soobshchestv i biosfery. Rassmatrivaetsya vliyanie razlichnykh ekologicheskikh faktorov na razvitie biotsenoza. Dayutsya ponyatiya o kontseptsii ustoychivosti ekosistem, strukture i osnovnykh tsiklakh biokhimicheskikh krugovorotov, energeticheskikh potokakh v ekosistemakh, ekologii cheloveka, antropogennom vliyanii na biosferu, ekologicheskikh krizisakh i ekologicheskikh katastrofakh.