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Ecology is the branch of science that studies the distribution and abundance of living organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their environment. The environment of an organism includes both its physical habitat, which can be described as the sum of local abiotic factors like climate and geology, as well as the other organisms which share its habitat. The term was coined in 1866 by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel from the Greek oikos meaning "household" and logos meaning "science:" the "study of the household of nature."Ecological systems are studied at several different levels from individuals and populations to ecosystems and biosphere level. Ecology is a multi-disciplinary science, drawing on many other branches of science.
Applied ecology is the practice of employing ecological principles and understanding to solve real world problems. Examples include measuring the economic worth of ecosystems, calculating fishing quotas, measuring environmental impact from construction or logging, building a case for the conservation of a species, and determining the most effective way to protect a species.
In a broader sense, ecology is can also mean:
For example, human ecology looks at humans and their interactions with the natural environment. Political ecologyPolitical ecology is an umbrella term for a variety of projects that involve " politics" and the " environment. These projects generally fall within one of three types: attempts to study politics using the language and methods of ecology (in other words, takes on both alternative meanings, and may use ecology's methods in a new context by looking at interactions of societies and states rather than species or populations, but may also mean politics related to environmental issues.
Ecology, as a scientific disipline, does not itself dictate what is right or wrong. However maintaining biodiversityBiodiversity or biological diversity is a neologism and a portmanteau word, from bio and diversity. It is the diversity of and in living nature. Diversity, at its heart, implies the number of different kinds of objects, such as species. However, defining within ecosystems and related ecological goals (such as preventing species extinctions) have become scientific ways to express the goals of environmentalismEnvironmentalism is activism aimed at improving the environment, particularly nature. This activism is usually based on the ideology of an environmental movement, and often takes the form of public education programs, advocacy, legislation and treaties. and has given scientific methodology, measure, and terminology to environmental issues, making the two heavily linked. A holistic viewHolism is the idea that the properties of a system cannot be determined or explained by the sum of its components alone. It is often regarded as opposite to reductionism, although proponents of scientific reductionism state that it is better regarded as t is also stressed in both ecology and environmentalism.
1 Scope
Ecology is usually considered a branch of biologyBiology studies the variety of life clockwise from top-left E. coli tree fern, gazelle, Goliath beetle Biology is the science of life. It is concerned with the characteristics and behaviors of organisms, how species and individuals come into existence, an, the general science that studies living beings. These can be studied at several levels, from proteins and nucleic acidA nucleic acid is a complex, high-molecular-weight biochemical macromolecule composed of nucleotide chains that convey genetic information. The most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA) and ribonucleic acid ( RNA). Nucleic acids are founds (in biochemistry and molecular biology), cells (in cellular biology), organisms (in botanics, zoology, and other similar disciplines), and finally at the level of populations, communities, and ecosystems — which are the subjects of ecology. Conversely, some people consider ecology to be the parent discipline and biology to be the sub-disciple, since ecology includes not only the interactions between organsisms, but also their interactions with their surroundings.
Because of its focus on the broadest level of life and on the interrelations between living beings and their environment, ecology draws heavily on other branches of science, such as geology and geography, meteorology, pedology, chemistry, and physics. For this reason, ecology is often said to be a holistic science.
- the behavioural relationship between individuals of a species — for example, the study of the queen bee, and how it relates to the worker bees and the drones.
- the organized activity of a species — for example, the activity of the bee assures the pollination of flowering plants. A bee hive additionally produces honey which is consumed by other species, such as bears.
- and the environment of this activity — for example, the consequences of the environmental change on the bee activity. Bees may die out due to environmental changes (see pollinator decline). The environment at the same time both affects and is a consequence of this activity and is thus intertwined with the survival of the species.
