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 – Natural, physical, or material world and its phenomena, or Natural environment – All living and non-living things occurring naturally, generally on Earth
Ecosystem – Community of living organisms together with the nonliving components of their environment, or Biome – Community of organisms associated with an environment
- Community (ecology) – Associated populations of species in a given area, or Biocoenosis – Interacting organisms living together in a habitat
  - Species – Basic unit of taxonomic classification, below genus
    - Population – All the organisms of a given species that live in a specified region
      - Organism – Any individual living being or physical living system
Biodiversity – Variety and variability of life forms
- Food web – Natural interconnection of food chains

Other criteria

Ecology can also be classified on the basis of:

the primary kinds of organism under study, e.g. animal ecology, plant ecology, insect ecology;
the biomes principally studied, e.g. forest ecology, grassland ecology, desert ecology, benthic ecology, marine ecology, urban ecology;
the geographic or climatic area, e.g. arctic ecology, tropical ecology;
the spatial scale under consideration, e.g. macroecology, landscape ecology;
the philosophical approach, e.g. systems ecology which adopts a holistic approach;
the methods used, e.g. molecular ecology.

Subdisciplines of ecology, and subdiscipline classification

Ecology is a broad discipline comprising many subdisciplines. The field of ecology can be subdivided according to several classification schemes:

By methodology used for investigation

Field ecology – Collection of information outside a laboratory, library or workplace setting –
Quantitative ecology –
Theoretical ecology – the development of ecological theory, usually with mathematical, statistical and/or computer modeling tools.

By spatial scale of ecological system under study

Global ecology – Global sum of all ecosystems on Earth –
Macroecology – Study of relationships between organisms and their environment at large spatial scales –
Microecology – Microbial ecology or ecology of a microhabitat.

By level of organisation or scope

Arranged from lowest to highest level of organisation:[1]

Autecology – the study of individual organisms of a single species in relation to their environment;
Synecology – the study of homogenous or heterogenous groups of organisms in relation to their environment;
- Population ecology – Study of the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment – the study of homogenous groups of organisms related as a single species;
- Community ecology – Associated populations of species in a given area – the study of heterogenous groups of organisms of multiple associated species;
- Ecosystem ecology – Study of living and non-living components of ecosystems and their interactions.

By biological classification or taxon under study

Human ecology – Study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments –
Animal ecology – Scientific study of the relationships between living animals and their environment –
Insect ecology – The study of how insects interact with the surrounding environment –
Microbial ecology – Study of the relationship of microorganisms with their environment –
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 – Study of interactions between the biota and environment in forets –
Grassland ecology – Area with vegetation dominated by grasses –
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 – Scientific study of living organisms.

By biogeographic realm or climatic area under study

Arctic ecology – Study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic –
Polar ecology – Relationship between plants and animals and a polar environment –
Tropical ecology – Study of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the tropics.

By ecological aspects or phenomena under investigation

Behavioral ecology – Study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures –
Chemical ecology – Study of chemically-mediated interactiond between living organisms – which deals with the ecological role of biological chemicals used in a wide range of areas including defense against predators and attraction of mates;
Disease ecology – Sub-discipline of ecology – which studies host-pathogen interactions, particularly those of infectious diseases, within the context of environmental factors;
Ecophysiology – 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 – Interaction of biology and evolution – or ecoevolution which looks at evolutionary changes in the context of the populations and communities in which the organisms exist;
Fire ecology – Study of fire in ecosystems – 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 – Study of genetic material in the environment –
Landscape ecology – Science of relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems –
- Landscape limnology – Spatially explicit study of lakes, streams, and wetlands as they interact with landscapes –
Molecular ecology – A field of evolutionary biology that applies molecular population genetics, molecular phylogenetics, and genomics to traditional ecological questions –
Paleoecology – Study of interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic timescales –
Social ecology – Study of relationships between people and their environment –
Soil ecology – Study of the interaction of soil and life – the ecology of the pedosphere –
Spatial ecology – Study of the distribution or space occupied by species –
Thermal ecology – the study of the relationship between temperature and organisms.

Ecology-involved interdisciplinary fields

Agroecology – Study of ecological processes in agriculture –
Applied ecology – the practice of employing ecological principles and understanding to solve real world problems (includes agroecology and conservation biology);
- Conservation ecology – Study of threats to biological diversity – which studies how to reduce the risk of species extinction;
- Restoration ecology – Scientific study of renewing and restoring ecosystems – which attempts to understand the ecological basis needed to restore impaired or damaged ecosystems;
Biogeochemistry – Study of chemical cycles of the earth that are either driven by or influence biological activity –
Biogeography – Study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time –
Ecological design – Design approach sensitive to environmental impacts –
Ecological economics – Interdependence of human economies and natural ecosystems –
Ecological engineering – Environmental engineering –
Ecological anthropology – Study of cultural adaptations to environments –
- Festive ecology – Study of the relationships between the symbolism and the ecology of the plants, fungi and animals associated with cultural events –
Ecological health –
Ecosophy – Philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium as developed by Arne Næss or Félix Guattari –
Environmental psychology – Academic study of the mind's relationship to one's immediate surroundings –
Natural history – Study of organisms including plants or animals in their environment –
Systems ecology – Holistic approach to the study of ecological systems –

Other disciplines

Ecology has also inspired (and lent its name to) other non-biological disciplines such as:

Biogeographic regions

Map of six of the world's eight terrestrial realms

Nearctic

Palearctic

Afrotropic

Indomalaya

Australasia

Neotropic

Oceania and Antarctic realms not shown

Biosphere – Global sum of all ecosystems on Earth

Terrestrial realms

Biogeographic realm – Broadest biogeographic division of Earth's land surface. 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)
Afrotropical 22.1 mil. km² (including Sub-Saharan Africa)
Indomalayan 7.5 mil. km² (including the South Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia)
Australasian – One of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms 7.7 mil. km² (including Australia, New Guinea, and neighbouring islands). The northern boundary of this zone is known as the Wallace line.
Neotropical 19.0 mil. km² (including South America and the Caribbean)
Oceanian – Terrestrial biogeographic realm 1.0 mil. km² (including Polynesia, Fiji and Micronesia)
Antarctic – One of Earth's eight biogeographic realms 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

History of human ecology

General ecology concepts

Ecological succession – Process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time
- Primary succession – Gradual growth and change of an ecosystem on new substrate
  - Pioneer species – First species to colonize or inhabite damaged ecosystems
  - Ruderal species – 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
Carrying capacity – Maximum population size of a species that an environment can support indefinitely
- Ecological collapse – Drastic reduction in ecosystem carrying capacity
Competitive exclusion principle – Ecology proposition
Ecological yield – Harvestable population growth in an ecosystem
Autotroph – Organism type
Bacteria – Domain of micro-organisms
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 – Natural processes of carbon exchange
Climate – Statistics of weather conditions in a given region over long periods
Ecological selection – Natural selection without sexual selection
Gaia hypothesis – Paradigm 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 – 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 – Ecology term
Ecophagy – The literal consumption of an ecosystem
Ecological niche – Fit of a species living under specific environmental conditions
Niche differentiation – The process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist.
Biological interaction – Effect that organisms have on other organisms
- Neutralism – A relationship between two species that interact but do not affect each other
- Amensalism – Asymmetric interaction between species
- Ecological facilitation – Species interactions that benefit at least one of the participants and cause harm to neither
  - Mutualism – Mutually beneficial interaction between species
  - Commensalism – Beneficial symbiosis between species
- Coexistence theory – A framework to understand and explain how ecologically similar species can coexist without competitively excluding each other
- Competition – Interaction where the fitness of one organism is lowered by the presence of another organism
- Predation – Biological interaction where a predator kills and eats a prey organism
- Parasitism – Relationship between species where one organism lives on or in another organism, causing it harm

References

Jax, Kurt; Schwarz, Astrid (2011). "The Fundamental Subdivisions of Ecology". Ecology Revisited: 175–179. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-9744-6_14. ISBN 978-90-481-9743-9.

External links

What is Ecology?
Fundamentals of Ecology Textbook-style investigation to the economy of nature, breaks down in four chapters from Population to Ecosystem.
Ecology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

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[1] Jax, Kurt; Schwarz, Astrid (2011). "The Fundamental Subdivisions of Ecology". Ecology Revisited: 175–179. doi:10.1007/978-90-481-9744-6_14. ISBN 978-90-481-9743-9.