Ecology (disciplines)
Encyclopedia
Ecology
is a broad biological science and can be divided into many sub-disciplines using various criteria. Many of these fields overlap, complement and inform each other. Indeed, few of these disciplines exist in isolation. For example, the population ecology
of an organism is a consequence of its behavioral ecology
and intimately tied to its community ecology. Methods from molecular ecology
might inform the study of the population, and all kinds of data are modeled and analyzed using quantitative ecology
techniques.
When discussing the study of a single species, a distinction is usually made between its biology and its ecology. For example, "polar bear
biology" might include the study of the polar bear's physiology
, morphology
, pathology
and ontogeny
, whereas "polar bear ecology" would include a study of its prey species, its population and metapopulation
status, distribution, dependence on environmental conditions, etc. In that sense, there can be as many subdisciplines of ecology as there are species to study.
can also be classified on the basis of:
Ecology also plays important roles in many inter-disciplinary fields:
Ecology has also inspired (and lent its name to) other non-biological disciplines such as
Finally, ecology is used to describe several philosophies or ideologies, such as
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
is a broad biological science and can be divided into many sub-disciplines using various criteria. Many of these fields overlap, complement and inform each other. Indeed, few of these disciplines exist in isolation. For example, the population ecology
Population ecology
Population ecology is a sub-field of ecology that deals with the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment. It is the study of how the population sizes of species living together in groups change over time and space....
of an organism is a consequence of its behavioral ecology
Behavioral ecology
Behavioral ecology, or ethoecology, is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior, and the roles of behavior in enabling an animal to adapt to its environment...
and intimately tied to its community ecology. Methods from molecular ecology
Molecular ecology
Molecular ecology is a field of evolutionary biology that is concerned with applying molecular population genetics, molecular phylogenetics, and more recently genomics to traditional ecological questions...
might inform the study of the population, and all kinds of data are modeled and analyzed using quantitative ecology
Quantitative ecology
Quantitative ecology is the application of advanced mathematical and statistical tools to any number of problems in the field of ecology. It is a small but growing subfield in ecology, reflecting the demand among practicing ecologists to interpret ever larger and more complex data sets using...
techniques.
When discussing the study of a single species, a distinction is usually made between its biology and its ecology. For example, "polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
biology" might include the study of the polar bear's physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
and ontogeny
Ontogeny
Ontogeny is the origin and the development of an organism – for example: from the fertilized egg to mature form. It covers in essence, the study of an organism's lifespan...
, whereas "polar bear ecology" would include a study of its prey species, its population and metapopulation
Metapopulation
A metapopulation consists of a group of spatially separated populations of the same species which interact at some level. The term metapopulation was coined by Richard Levins in 1970 to describe a model of population dynamics of insect pests in agricultural fields, but the idea has been most...
status, distribution, dependence on environmental conditions, etc. In that sense, there can be as many subdisciplines of ecology as there are species to study.
Other criteria
EcologyEcology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
can also be classified on the basis of:
- the primary kinds of organism under study, e.g. animal ecology, plant ecologyPlant ecologyPlant ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology which studies the distribution and abundance of plants, the interactions among and between members of plant species, and their interactions with their environment...
, insect ecologyInsect ecologyInsect ecology is the scientific study of how insects, individually or as a community, interact with the surrounding environment or ecosystem....
; - the biomes principally studied, e.g. forest ecologyForest ecologyForest ecology is the scientific study of the interrelated patterns, processes, flora, fauna and ecosystems in forests. The management of forests is known as forestry, silviculture, and forest management...
, grassland ecology, desert ecologyDesert ecologyIn ecology, desert ecology is the sum of the interactions between both biotic and abiotic processes in arid regions, and it includes the interactions of plant, animal, and bacterial populations in a desert habitat, ecosystem, and community. Some of the abiotic factors also include latitude and...
, benthic ecology, marine ecology, urban ecologyUrban ecologyUrban ecology is a subfield of ecology which deals with the interaction between organisms in an urban or urbanized community, and their interaction with that community. Urban ecologists study the trees, rivers, wildlife and open spaces found in cities to understand the extent of those resources and...
; - the geographic or climatic area, e.g. arctic ecologyArctic ecologyArctic ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic, the region north of the Arctic Circle . This is a region characterized by stressful conditions as a result of extreme cold, low precipitation, a limited growing season and virtually no...
, tropical ecologyTropical ecologyTropical ecology is the relationship between plants and animals in a tropical environment , these mean the area between tropic of Cancer and tropic of Capricorn. Day and night last here approximately 12 hours. Characteristic for tropical zone is at least one day of right angle sun shining. High... - the spatial scale under consideration, e.g. macroecologyMacroecologyMacroecology is the subfield of ecology that deals with the study of relationships between organisms and their environment at large spatial scales to characterise and explain statistical patterns of abundance, distribution and diversity...
, landscape ecologyLandscape ecologyLandscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between urban development and ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems...
; - the philosophical approach, e.g. systems ecologySystems ecologySystems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, taking a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology. Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem...
which adopts a holistic approach; - the methods used, e.g. molecular ecologyMolecular ecologyMolecular ecology is a field of evolutionary biology that is concerned with applying molecular population genetics, molecular phylogenetics, and more recently genomics to traditional ecological questions...
.
List of subdisciplines
Specialized branches of ecology include, among others:- applied ecologyApplied ecologyApplied ecology is a subfield within ecology, which considers the application of the science of ecology to real-world questions. It is an integrated treatment of the ecological, social, and biotechnological aspects of natural resource conservation and management. It is also called ecological or...
, the practice of employing ecological principles and understanding to solve real world problems (includes agroecologyAgroecologyAgroecology is the application of ecological principles to the production of food, fuel, fiber, and pharmaceuticals. The term encompasses a broad range of approaches, and is considered "a science, a movement, [and] a practice."...
and conservation biologyConservation biologyConservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
); - biogeochemistryBiogeochemistryBiogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment...
, effect of biota on global chemistry, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space. - biogeographyBiogeographyBiogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
, the study of the geographic distributions of species ; - chemical ecologyChemical ecologyChemical ecology is the study of the chemicals involved in the interactions of living organisms. It focuses on the production of and response to signaling molecules and toxins. Chemical ecology is of particular importance among ants and other social insects – including bees, wasps, and termites –...
, which deals with the ecological role of biological chemicals used in a wide range of areas including defense against predators and attraction of mates; - conservation ecologyConservation biologyConservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
, which studies how to reduce the risk of species extinction; - ecological successionEcological successionEcological succession, is the phenomenon or process by which a community progressively transforms itself until a stable community is formed. It is a fundamental concept in ecology, and refers to more or less predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community...
, which focuses on understanding directed vegetation change; - ecophysiologyEcophysiologyEcophysiology or environmental physiology is a biological discipline which studies the adaptation of organism's physiology to environmental conditions...
which studies the interaction of physiological traits with the abiotic environment; - ecotoxicologyEcotoxicologyEcotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population, community, ecosystem level. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, which integrates toxicology and ecology....
, which looks at the ecological role of toxic chemicals (often pollutantPollutantA pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil, and is the cause of pollution.Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, its concentration and its persistence. Some pollutants are biodegradable and therefore will not persist in the environment in the...
s, but also naturally occurring compounds); - evolutionary ecologyEvolutionary ecologyEvolutionary ecology lies at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary biology. It approaches the study of ecology in a way that explicitly considers the evolutionary histories of species and the interactions between them. Conversely, it can be seen as an approach to the study of evolution that...
or ecoevolution which looks at evolutionary changes in the context of the populations and communities in which the organisms exist; - fire ecologyFire ecologyFire ecology is concerned with the processes linking the natural incidence of fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects of this fire. Many ecosystems, such as the North American prairie and chaparral ecosystems, and the South African savanna, have evolved with fire as a natural and necessary...
, which looks at the role of fire in the environment of plants and animals and its effect on ecological communities; - functional ecologyFunctional ecologyFunctional ecology is the branch of ecology that focuses on the roles, or functions, that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. In this approach, physiological, anatomical, and life history characteristics of the species are emphasized...
, the study of the roles, or functions, that certain species (or groups thereof) play in an ecosystem; - global ecology, which examines ecological phenomena at the largest possible scale, addressing macroecologicalMacroecologyMacroecology is the subfield of ecology that deals with the study of relationships between organisms and their environment at large spatial scales to characterise and explain statistical patterns of abundance, distribution and diversity...
questions; - landscape ecologyLandscape ecologyLandscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between urban development and ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems...
, which studies the interactions between discrete elements of a landscapeLandscapeLandscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
; - macroecologyMacroecologyMacroecology is the subfield of ecology that deals with the study of relationships between organisms and their environment at large spatial scales to characterise and explain statistical patterns of abundance, distribution and diversity...
, the study of large scale phenomena; - marine ecology, and aquatic ecology, where the dominant environmental milieu is water;
- microbial ecologyMicrobial ecologyMicrobial ecology is the ecology of microorganisms: their relationship with one another and with their environment. It concerns the three major domains of life — Eukaryota, Archaea, and Bacteria — as well as viruses....
, the ecology of micro-organisms; - microecologyMicroecologyMicroecology means microbial ecology or ecology of a microhabitat. Human gut microecology is the study of microbial ecology of the human gut....
, the study of small scale phenomena; - paleoecologyPaleoecologyPaleoecology uses data from fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the ecosystems of the past. It involves the study of fossil organisms and their associated remains, including their life cycle, living interactions, natural environment, and manner of death and burial to reconstruct the...
, which seeks to understand the relationships between species in fossil assemblages; - quantitative ecologyQuantitative ecologyQuantitative ecology is the application of advanced mathematical and statistical tools to any number of problems in the field of ecology. It is a small but growing subfield in ecology, reflecting the demand among practicing ecologists to interpret ever larger and more complex data sets using...
, the development of mathematical and statistical tools to interpret and analyze ecological data. - restoration ecologyRestoration ecology-Definition:Restoration ecology is the scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action, within a short time frame...
, which attempts to understand the ecological basis needed to restore impaired or damaged ecosystems; - soil ecologySoil ecologySoil ecology is the study of the interactions among soil organisms, and between biotic and abiotic aspects of the soil environment. It is particularly concerned with the cycling of nutrients, formation and stabilization of the pore structure, the spread and vitality of pathogens, and the...
, the ecology of the pedosphere; - theoretical ecologyTheoretical ecologyTheoretical ecology is the scientific discipline devoted to the study of ecological systems using theoretical methods such as simple conceptual models, mathematical models, computational simulations, and advanced data analysis...
, the development of ecological theory, usually with mathematical, statistical and/or computer modeling tools; - urban ecologyUrban ecologyUrban ecology is a subfield of ecology which deals with the interaction between organisms in an urban or urbanized community, and their interaction with that community. Urban ecologists study the trees, rivers, wildlife and open spaces found in cities to understand the extent of those resources and...
, the study of ecosystems in urban areas.
Ecology also plays important roles in many inter-disciplinary fields:
- ecological designEcological designEcological design was defined by Sim Van der Ryn and Stuart Cowan as "any form of design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes." Ecological design is an integrative, ecologically responsible design discipline...
and ecological engineeringEcological engineeringEcological engineering is an emerging study of integrating ecology and engineering, concerned with the design, monitoring and construction of ecosystems...
. - ecological economicsEcological economicsImage:Sustainable development.svg|right|The three pillars of sustainability. Clickable.|275px|thumbpoly 138 194 148 219 164 240 182 257 219 277 263 291 261 311 264 331 272 351 283 366 300 383 316 394 287 408 261 417 224 424 182 426 154 423 119 415 87 403 58 385 40 368 24 347 17 328 13 309 16 286 26...
. - festive ecologyFestive ecologyFestive ecology explores the relationships between the symbolism and the ecology of the plants, fungi and animals associated with cultural events such as festivals, processions and special occasions...
. - human ecologyHuman ecologyHuman ecology is the subdiscipline of ecology that focuses on humans. More broadly, it is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The term 'human ecology' first appeared in a sociological study in 1921...
and ecological anthropologyEcological anthropologyEcological anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that deals with relationships between humans and their environment, or between nature and culture, over time and space. It investigates the ways that a population shapes its environment and may be shaped by it, and the subsequent manners in...
. - social ecologySocial ecologySocial ecology is a philosophy developed by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s.It holds that present ecological problems are rooted in deep-seated social problems, particularly in dominatory hierarchical political and social systems. These have resulted in an uncritical acceptance of an overly...
, ecological healthEcological healthEcological health or ecological integrity or ecological damage are the symptoms of an ecosystem's pending loss of carrying capacity, its ability to perform ecological services, or a pending ecocide, due to cumulative causes such as pollution. it can also be defined as farming so as to minimize the...
and environmental psychologyEnvironmental psychologyEnvironmental psychology is an interdisciplinary field focused on the interplay between humans and their surroundings. The field defines the term environment broadly, encompassing natural environments, social settings, built environments, learning environments, and informational environments...
.
Ecology has also inspired (and lent its name to) other non-biological disciplines such as
- industrial ecologyIndustrial ecologyIndustrial Ecology is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modeled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into commodities which can be bought and sold to meet the...
. - media ecologyMedia ecologyMedia ecology is a contested term within media studies having different meanings within European and North American contexts. The North American definition refers to aninterdisciplinary field of media theory and media design involving the study of "symbolic environment, or the socially constructed,...
. - software ecology and information ecologyInformation ecologyIn the context of an evolving information society, the term information ecology marks a connection between ecological ideas with the dynamics and properties of the increasingly dense, complex and important digital informational environment and has been gaining progressively wider acceptance in a...
.
Finally, ecology is used to describe several philosophies or ideologies, such as
- deep ecologyDeep ecologyDeep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy that recognizes an inherent worth of all living beings, regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs. The philosophy emphasizes the interdependence of organisms within ecosystems and that of ecosystems with each other within the...
- social ecologySocial ecologySocial ecology is a philosophy developed by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s.It holds that present ecological problems are rooted in deep-seated social problems, particularly in dominatory hierarchical political and social systems. These have resulted in an uncritical acceptance of an overly...