Environmental Ecology

Environmental Ecology is the branch of biology which studies the interactions among organisms and their environment. Objects of study include interactions of organisms with each other and with abiotic components of their environment. Let’s find out more about Environmental Ecology.

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Introduction to Environmental Ecology

Ecology is known to be the scientific study of the interactions among the organisms and their environment. It is the study of distributions, abundance, and relations of organisms as well as the interactions with the environment. It includes the study of plants and animals populations, plants, and animals community as well as the ecosystems.

Ecology is a broad term which is also known as bio ecology, bionomics or environmental biology as it specifically studies the relationship between the organisms and the environment.

It is an interdisciplinary field that deals with both subjects of biology and earth science, however, is separate from the study of the environment, natural history and environmental science. It is environmental science that focused on the interactions between the physical, biological and chemical environment components that include their effects on different types of organisms.

Environmental Science is a broader field as it incorporates elements of earth and life science. Whereas Ecology is primarily focused on how the organisms interact with each other and as well with their surroundings. The people who study ecology are called ecologists.

They focus on the specifications or interactions with the group that includes the preference of the food, eating habits, and migration. Ecologists study issues of the population size, diversity, distribution, and dominance of specific organisms. Some of the key issues studies by ecologists are –

• A broader study of the processes of Life, the interactions as well as the adaptations of the specific species.
• Biodiversity within an ecosystem.
• The abundance and the distribution of the organisms within an environment.
• Progression of changes in the ecosystem.
• The influence of the environmental factors on the organism’s population.

Browse more Topics under Basic Science

• Basic Biology (Life Sciences)
• Basic Chemistry
• Basic Physics

Levels of Organisation and Study

When describing the ecological phenomena, the scale and dynamics of time and space shall be considered carefully. It takes about 1000 of years for the ecological process to mature when considered in reference to time. For example – The lifespan of a tree. The global patterns of the biological diversity are complex.

Ecology and Ecosystems

An ecology is a scientific approach to the study of the biosphere, whereas ecosystems are created by the interrelationships between the living organisms and the physical environments they inhabit ( which can be land, air or water. ) These systems require a source of energy ( for example – light from the sun ) to help them able to work.

It is essential to identify the components involved along with the interrelationships to study the ecosystems. To map the interrelationship between the organisms within an ecosystem, food chains and food webs play an essential part.

Solved Example

Q1: What is an ecosystem?

1.  A place where living and nonliving things need and use each other.
2.  How animals move from one place to another.
3.  An area of land that drains water into a body of water.
4.  A place with only one living thing

Sol. The correct answer is the option ”a”. A place where living and nonliving things need and use each other is an ecosystem.

Q2: What is photosynthesis?

1. Using soils and dead things to make food.
2. 
The process of making food in plants.
3. 
How animals rely on plants for food.
4. 
How energy passes between things.

Sol: The correct answer is option ”b”. The process of making food in plants is photosynthesis.