This lecture introduced us to Landscape Ecology which look at spatial patterns and ecological processes. Through landscape ecology the level of influence of spatial pattern on the interaction and function of ecosystem is studied. The aim of the discipline is to understand process through examining form. Studies done under the umbrella of landscape ecology take a novel approach to landscape and ecological dynamics often focusing on larger spatial extents and the effect of first order processes. This is done through programs such as FragStats, which we were introduced to in this lecture and used in Lab 2. In using such programs patchiness, patches scaling techniques, diversity metrics, contagion, and interspersion metrics are analyzed to address the role spatial heterogeneity plays in ecology.