Outline of ecology
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ecology:
Ecology – scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms and how the distribution and abundance are affected by interactions between the organisms and their environment. The environment of an organism includes both physical properties, which can be described as the sum of local abiotic factors such as solar insolation, climate and geology, as well as the other organisms that share its habitat. Also called ecological science.
Essence of ecology
- Nature – The phenomena of the physical world, and life in general, or Natural environment – All living and non-living things occurring naturally, generally on Earth
- Ecosystem – A community of living organisms together with the nonliving components of their environment, or Biome – Distinct biological communities that have formed in response to a shared physical climate
- Community (ecology) – Associated populations of species in a given area, or Biocoenosis – The interacting organisms living together in a habitat
- Species – The basic unit of biological classification, a taxonomic rank, and a unit of biodiversity
- Population – All the orgnisms of a given species that live in the specified region
- Organism – Any individual living physical entity
- Population – All the orgnisms of a given species that live in the specified region
- Species – The basic unit of biological classification, a taxonomic rank, and a unit of biodiversity
- Community (ecology) – Associated populations of species in a given area, or Biocoenosis – The interacting organisms living together in a habitat
- Biodiversity – Variety and variabiity of life forms
- Food web – A natural interconnection of food chains
Subdisciplines of ecology, and subdiscipline classification
Ecology is a broad discipline comprising many sub-disciplines. The field of ecology can be sub-divided according to several classification schemes:
By level of complexity or scope
Arranged from lowest to highest complexity:
- Ecophysiology – The study of adaptation of an organism's physiology to environmental conditions, or Behavioral ecology – Study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures
- Population ecology, also known as autoecology – Study of the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment
- Community ecology, also known as synecology – Associated populations of species in a given area
- Ecosystem ecology – The study of living and non-living components of ecosystems and their interactions
- Systems ecology – A holistic approach to the study of ecological systems
- Landscape ecology – The science of relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems
By organisms under study
- Animal ecology – Scientific study of the relationships between living animals and their environment
- Behavioral ecology – Study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures
- Biogeography – The study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time
- Insect ecology – The study of how insects interact with the surrounding environment
- Microbial ecology – Study of the relationship of microorganisms with their environment
- Paleoecology – The study of interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic timescales
- Plant ecology – The study of effect of the environment on the abundance and distribution of plants
By biome under study
- Benthic ecology – The study of the interaction of sea-floor organisms with each other and with the environment
- Desert ecology – The study of interactions between both biotic and abiotic components of desert environments
- Forest ecology – The study of interactions between the biota and environment in forets
- Grassland ecology
- Marine ecology – The study of the interactions between organisms and environment in the sea
- Aquatic ecology – The study of interactions between organisms and the environment in water
- Urban ecology – The study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in the context of an urban environment.
By geographic or climatic area under study
- Arctic ecology – The study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic
- Polar ecology – The relationship between plants and animals and a polar environment
- Tropical ecology – The study of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the tropics
By spatial scale under study
- Global ecology
- Landscape ecology – The science of relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems
- Landscape limnology – The spatially explicit study of lakes, streams, and wetlands as they interact with freshwater, terrestrial, and human landscapes to determine the effects of pattern on ecosystem processes across temporal and spatial scales
- Spatial ecology – Study of the ultimate distributional or spatial unit occupied by a species
- Macroecology – The study of relationships between organisms and their environment at large spatial scales
- Microecology – Microbial ecology or ecology of a microhabitat
- Microbial ecology – Study of the relationship of microorganisms with their environment
- Molecular ecology – A field of evolutionary biology that applies molecular population genetics, molecular phylogenetics, and genomics to traditional ecological questions
By ecological aspects or phenomena under investigation
- Chemical ecology – which deals with the ecological role of biological chemicals used in a wide range of areas including defense against predators and attraction of mates;
- Ecophysiology – The study of adaptation of an organism's physiology to environmental conditions – which studies the interaction of physiological traits with the abiotic environment;
- Ecotoxicology – which looks at the ecological role of toxic chemicals (often pollutants, but also naturally occurring compounds);
- Evolutionary ecology – Study of how interactions among species and between species and their environment affect species through selection and adaptation – or ecoevolution which looks at evolutionary changes in the context of the populations and communities in which the organisms exist;
- Fire ecology – which looks at the role of fire in the environment of plants and animals and its effect on ecological communities;
- Functional ecology – the study of the roles, or functions, that certain species (or groups thereof) play in an ecosystem;
- Genetic ecology
- Soil ecology – the ecology of the pedosphere;
By technique used for investigation
- Field ecology
- Quantitative ecology
- Theoretical ecology – the development of ecological theory, usually with mathematical, statistical and/or computer modeling tools;
By environmental approach
- Ecosophy
- Applied ecology – the practice of employing ecological principles and understanding to solve real world problems (includes agroecology and conservation biology);
- Conservation ecology – which studies how to reduce the risk of species extinction;
- Deep ecology –
- Restoration ecology – which attempts to understand the ecological basis needed to restore impaired or damaged ecosystems;
Ecology-involved interdisciplinary fields
- Agroecology – The study of ecological processes in agriculture
- Biogeochemistry – The study of chemical cycles of the earth that are either driven by or influence biological activity
- Ecological design – Design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes
- Ecological economics – Transdisciplinary research field addressing the interdependence and coevolution of human economies and natural ecosystems
- Ecological engineering – Use of ecology and engineering to predict, design, construct or restore, and manage ecosystems that integrate "human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both"
- Festive ecology – Study of the relationships between the symbolism and the ecology of the plants, fungi and animals associated with cultural events
- Human ecology – Study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments
- Ecological anthropology – The study of cultural adaptations to environments
- Social ecology – Study of relationships between people and their environment
- Ecological health
- Environmental psychology – Study of the interplay between individuals and their surroundings
- Industrial ecology – The study of material and energy flows through industrial systems
- Paleoecology – The study of interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic timescales
Biogeographic regions
- Biosphere – The global sum of all ecosystems on Earth
Ecozone
Ecozone The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) developed a system of eight biogeographic realms (ecozones):
- Nearctic 22.9 mil. km² (including most of North America)
- Palearctic 54.1 mil. km² (including the bulk of Eurasia and North Africa)
- Afrotropic 22.1 mil. km² (including Sub-Saharan Africa)
- Indomalaya 7.5 mil. km² (including the South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia)
- Australasia 7.7 mil. km² (including Australia, New Guinea, and neighbouring islands). The northern boundary of this zone is known as the Wallace line.
- Neotropic 19.0 mil. km² (including South America and the Caribbean)
- Oceania 1.0 mil. km² (including Polynesia, Fiji and Micronesia)
- Antarctic 0.3 mil. km² (including Antarctica).
Ecoregions
Ecoregion – Ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion
The World has over 800 terrestrial ecoregions. See Lists of ecoregions by country.
History of ecology
History of ecology – Aspect of history covering the study of ecology
General ecology concepts
- Ecological succession – The process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time
- Primary succession – The gradual growth of an ecosystem on new substrate
- Pioneer species
- Ruderal species – A plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands
- Supertramp – Any type of animal which follows the strategy of high dispersion among many different habitats
- Secondary succession – The redevelopment of an encology after an event that changes it radically
- Primary succession – The gradual growth of an ecosystem on new substrate
- Carrying capacity – The maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely
- Ecological collapse – A situation where an ecosystem suffers a drastic, possibly permanent, reduction in carrying capacity for all organisms
- Competitive exclusion principle – A proposition that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist at constant population values
- Ecological yield – Harvestable population growth in an ecosystem
- Autotroph – Any organism that produces complex organic compounds from simple substances present in its surroundings, generally using energy from light or inorganic chemical reactions
- Bacteria – A domain of prokaryotes – single celled organisms without a nucleus
- Bioinvader – Organism occurring in a new habitat
- Biomass – Biological material used as a renewable energy source
- Biotic material – Any material that originates from living organisms
- Carbon cycle – Biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, pedosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere,
- Climate – Statistics of weather conditions in a given region over long periods
- Ecological selection – Natural selection without sexual selection
- Gaia hypothesis – Hypothesis that living organisms interact with their surroundings in a self-regulating system
- Natural resource – Resources that exist without actions of humankind
- Monoculture – The agricultural practice of producing a single crop at a time
- Decomposition – The process in which organic substances are broken down into simpler organic matter
- Organic matter – Matter composed of organic compounds
- Inorganic substance – A substance lacking organic constituents
- Detritus – Dead particulate organic material
- Biodegradation – Decomposition by living organisms
- Ecological crisis – Change to the environment that destabilizes the continued survival of a population
- Ecological extinction – The reduction of a species to such low abundance that, although it is still present in the community, it no longer interacts significantly with other species
- Ecophagy – The literal consumption of an ecosystem
- Ecological niche – The fit of a species living under specific environmental conditions.
- Biological interaction – Any process in which an organism has an effect on another organism
- Neutralism – A relationship between two species that interact but do not affect each other
- Amensalism – An asymmetric interaction where organisms of one species are harmed or killed by the other which are unaffected
- Ecological facilitation – Species interactions that benefit at least one of the participants and cause harm to neither
- Mutualism – A relationship between organisms of different species in which each individual benefits from the activity of the other
- Commensalism – An interaction between two organisms living together in more or less intimate association in a relationship in which one benefits and the other is unaffected.
- Competition – Interaction where the fitness of one organism is lowered by the presence of another organism
- Predation – A biological interaction where a predator kills and eats a prey organism
- Parasitism – Interaction between two organisms living together in more or less intimate association in a relationship in which association is disadvantageous or destructive to one of the organisms
See also
- Bibliography of ecology – List of publications on the topic of biology
- Biology – The study of life
- Outline of biology – Hierarchical outline list of articles related to biology
- Index of biology articles – Alphabetic listing of articles about biology topics
External links
- What is Ecology?
- Fundamentals of Ecology Textbook-style investigation to the economy of nature, breaks down in 4 chapters from Population to Ecosystem.
- Ecology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)