- Topic outline of ecology
:"For a more comprehensive list, see the
List of ecology topics ."Ecology , or ecological science, is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms and how the distribution and abundance are affected byinteraction s between the organisms and their environment. The environment of an organism includes both physical properties, which can be described as the sum of localabiotic factors such as solarinsolation ,climate andgeology , as well as the other organisms that share its habitat.The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to ecology:
Essence of ecology
: "Main article:
Ecology "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 andBehavioral ecology examine adaptations of the individual to its environment.
*Population ecology studies the dynamics of populations of a single species.
*Community ecology (or synecology) focuses on the interactions between species within an ecological community.
*Ecosystem ecology studies the flows of energy and matter through the biotic and abiotic components ofecosystem s.
*Systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field focusing on the study, development, and organization of ecological systems from aholistic perspective.
*Landscape ecology examines processes and relationship across multiple ecosystems or very large geographic areas.By organisms under study
*
Animal ecology
*Biogeography - the study of the geographic distributions of species ;
*Insect ecology
*Microbial ecology - the ecology of micro-organisms;
*Paleoecology - which seeks to understand the relationships between species in fossil assemblages;
*Plant ecology -By biome under study
*
Benthic ecology - study of sea-floor organisms, and their interaction with each other and with the environment
*Desert ecology -
*Forest ecology -
*Grassland ecology -
*Marine ecology - andaquatic ecology , where the dominant environmental milieu is water;
*Urban ecology - the study of ecosystems in urban areas.By geographic or climatic area under study
*
Arctic ecology -
*Polar ecology -
*Tropical ecology -By spatial scale under study
*
Global ecology - which examines ecological phenomena at the largest possible scale, addressing macroecological questions;
*Landscape ecology - which studies the interactions between discrete elements of alandscape ;
*Macroecology - the study of large scale phenomena;
*Microecology - the study of small scale phenomena;
*Molecular ecology -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 - which studies the interaction of physiological traits with the abiotic environment;
*Ecotoxicology - which looks at the ecological role of toxic chemicals (oftenpollutant s, but also naturally occurring compounds);
*Evolutionary ecology - orecoevolution 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
*Statistical ecology
*Theoretical ecology - the development of ecological theory, usually with mathematical, statistical and/or computer modeling tools;By philosophical approach
*
Systems ecology
*Applied ecology - the practice of employing ecological principles and understanding to solve real world problems (includesagroecology andconservation biology );
*Conservation ecology - which studies how to reduce the risk of species extinction;
*Restoration ecology - which attempts to understand the ecological basis needed to restore impaired or damaged ecosystems;Ecology-involved interdisciplinary fields
*
Biogeochemistry - effect of biota on global chemistry, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space.
*Ecological design -
*Ecological economics -
*Ecological engineering -
*Festive ecology -
*Human ecology -
*Ecological anthropology -
*Social ecology -
*Ecological health -
*Environmental psychology -Biogeographic regions
thumb|400px|right|Map_of_six_of_the_worldlegend|#f9f9f9|Oceania and Antarctic ecozones not shown*
Biosphere Ecozone
The
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) developed a system of eight biogeographic realms (ecozones):
*Nearctic 22.9 mil. km² (including most ofNorth America )
*Palearctic 54.1 mil. km² (including the bulk ofEurasia andNorth Africa )
*Afrotropic 22.1 mil. km² (includingSub-Saharan Africa )
*Indomalaya 7.5 mil. km² (including the South Asian subcontinent andSoutheast Asia )
* Australasia 7.7 mil. km² (includingAustralia ,New Guinea , and neighbouring islands). The northern boundary of this zone is known as theWallace line .
*Neotropic 19.0 mil. km² (includingSouth America and theCaribbean )
* Oceania 1.0 mil. km² (includingPolynesia ,Fiji andMicronesia )
* Antarctic 0.3 mil. km² (includingAntarctica ).Ecoregions
Ecozones are further divided into ecoregions. The World has over 800
terrestrial ecoregion s. "SeeLists of ecoregions by country ."History of ecology
: "Main article:
History of ecology "* History of human ecology
Basic ecology concepts
*
Autotroph
*Bacteria
*Biomes
*Biodegradable
*Biodiversity
*Bioinvader
*Biocoenosis
*Biomass
*Biome
*Biotic material
*Carbon cycle
*Carrying capacity
*Climate
*Climate change
*Competitive exclusion principle
*Decomposition
*Deep ecology
*Desert ecology
*Detritus
*Ecological collapse
* Ecological community
**Community (ecology)
**Ecovillage
*Ecological crisis
*Ecological debt
*Ecological deficit
*Ecological extinction
*Ecological facilitation
*Ecological footprint
*Ecological niche
*Ecological selection
*Ecological succession
*Ecological yield
*Ecology movement
*Ecophagy
*Ecosophy
*Ecosystem
*Ecosystem valuation
*Environmentalism
*Environmental impact assessment
*Environmental management
*Gaia hypothesis
*Global warming
*Greenhouse effect
*Green movement
*Green party
*Green politics
*Human ecology
*Industrial ecology
*Microbial ecology
*Monoculture
*Natural capital
*Natural environment
*Natural resource
*Nature
*Organic matter
*Over-consumption
*Pollution
*Pioneer species
*Primary succession
*Secondary succession
*Species
* Supertramp
*Sustainability Ecology lists
: "Main article:
List of ecology topics "See also
*
Biology
**List of basic biology topics
**List of biology topics External links
* [http://www.barrameda.com.ar/ecology What is Ecology?]
* [http://www.econguru.com/fundamentals_of_ecology/ Fundamentals of Ecology] Textbook-style investigation to the economy of nature, breaks down in 4 chapters from Population to Ecosystem.
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ecology/ Ecology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.