Types of prospective biology teachers' understanding of key concepts in ecology

In order to properly educate ecology, it is necessary to train biology teachers who correctly understand the key concepts of ecology. This study aimed to identify prospective biology teachers’ alternative conceptions of the key concepts of ecology and to identify the level of understanding of ecological concepts through categorization. The core concepts of ecology covered in this study were interdependence of ecosystems, energy flow and material cycle of ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem dynamics. Overall, four levels of prospective biology teachers’understanding of ecological situations involving the core concepts could be categrized. Levels 1 and 2 were characterized by incorrect application of ecological concepts for the presented situations. Levels 3 and 4 were able to provide explanations using ecological concepts, but Level 3 was not able to fully utilize systems thinking and temporal thinking. In particular, there was a relatively low level of understanding of the distribution of biological populations, the origin of biological organic matter, and biodiversity at the ecosystem level. A proper understanding of ecological concepts requires systems thinking and temporal thinking. Therefore, there is a need for learning about ecological concepts based on systems thinking and temporal thinking in pre-service biology teacher education programs.