Ecologists study organisms and the area they live in. Their interest is how environmental changes affect organisms and their lives.

Every year there are approximately 180,000 new homes built. Building sites can have a huge effect on the plants and animals of the area. Every time a new construction site is to be developed, ecologists must study how this will affect organisms in the area.

If rare organisms are found in an area, then the development may not go ahead or it will be delayed until:

• the organisms can be moved to another area
• the development can be redesigned to allow the organisms to continue living there

This is called sustainable development. It means that it allows things to continue to exist in the future whilst meeting the needs of today.

In this activity, we will explore how environmental influences impact the community of organisms living there.