Ecology

Ecology is the branch or aspect of biology that studies the biota (living things), the environment, and their interactions. It comes from the Greek oikos = house; logos = study.

Ecology is the study of ecosystems. Ecosystems describe the web or network of relations among organisms at different scales of organization. Since ecology refers to any form of biodiversity, ecologists research everything from tiny bacteria in nutrient recycling to the effects of tropical rain forests on the Earth's atmosphere. Scientists who study these interactions are called ecologists.

Terrestrial ecoregion and climate change research are two areas where ecologists now focus.

There are many practical applications of ecology in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agriculture, forestry, fisheries), city planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, and applied science. It provides a framework for understanding and researching human social interaction.^[1][2][3][4]

1. ↑ Omerod S.J. Pienkowski M.W. & Watkinson A.R. 1999. Communicating the value of ecology. Journal of Applied Ecology 36, 847–855
2. ↑ Phillipson J. Lowe P. & Bullock J.M. 2009. Navigating the social sciences: interdisciplinarity and ecology. Journal of Applied Ecology 46, 261–264
3. ↑ Steward T.A. et al. 2008. Beyond urban legends: an emerging framework of urban ecology, as illustrated by the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. BioScience 58 139–150
4. ↑ Aguirre, A.A. (2009). "Biodiversity and Human Health". EcoHealth. 6: 153–156. doi:10.1007/s10393-009-0242-0. S2CID 27553272.