Behaviors corresponding to higher levels occur at slow rates. Some ecological principles, however, do exhibit collective properties where the sum of the components explain the properties of the whole, such as birth rates of a population being equal to the sum of individual births over a designated time frame.Hierarchical ecologySystem behaviors must first be arrayed into different levels of organization. The nature of connections in ecological communities cannot be explained by knowing the details of each species in isolation, because the emergent pattern is neither revealed nor predicted until the ecosystem is studied as an integrated whole. Each of those aphids, in turn, support diverse bacterial communities. Several generations of an aphid population can exist over the lifespan of a single leaf. A single tree is of little consequence to the classification of a forest ecosystem, but critically relevant to organisms living in and on it. Ecosystems are dynamic, they do not always follow a linear successional path, but they are always changing, sometimes rapidly and sometimes so slowly that it can take thousands of years for ecological processes to bring about certain successional stages of a forest.Īn ecosystem's area can vary greatly, from tiny to vast. Ecosystems, for example, contain abiotic resources and interacting life forms (i. Levels, scope, and scale of organizationThe scope of ecology contains a wide array of interacting levels of organization spanning micro- level (e. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection became the cornerstones of modern ecological theory. Modern ecology became a much more rigorous science in the late 1. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle laid the foundations of ecology in their studies on natural history. Ecological thought is derivative of established currents in philosophy, particularly from ethics and politics. The word "ecology" ("Ökologie") was coined in 1. Ecosystems sustain life- supporting functions and produce natural capital like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value. Organisms (including humans) and resources compose ecosystems which, in turn, maintain biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living (biotic) and non- living (abiotic) components of the planet. It is not treated as separate from humans. For example, the Circles of Sustainability approach treats ecology as more than the environment 'out there'. There are many practical applications of ecology in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agroecology, agriculture, forestry, agroforestry, fisheries), city planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, basic and applied science, and human social interaction (human ecology). The abundance and distribution of organisms and biodiversity in the context of the environment. The successional development of ecosystems. The movement of materials and energy through living communities. Ecologists seek to explain: Life processes, interactions, and adaptations.
An important focus for ecologists is to improve the understanding of how biodiversity affects ecological function. It is closely related to evolutionary biology, genetics, and ethology.
Biodiversity, which refers to the varieties of species, genes, and ecosystems, enhances certain ecosystem services.Įcology is not synonymous with environment, environmentalism, natural history, or environmental science.
These processes are sustained by organisms with specific life history traits, and the variety of organisms is called biodiversity. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, pedogenesis, nutrient cycling, and various niche construction activities, regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment. Ecosystems are composed of dynamically interacting parts including organisms, the communities they make up, and the non- living components of their environment. Topics of interest to ecologists include the diversity, distribution, amount (biomass), and number (population) of particular organisms, as well as cooperation and competition between organisms, both within and among ecosystems. It is an interdisciplinary field that includes biology, geography, and Earth science.Įcology includes the study of interactions that organisms have with each other, other organisms, and with abiotic components of their environment. Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house", or "environment" - λογία, "study of") is the scientific analysis and study of interactions among organisms and their environment.
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