What is ecology?
Q: What is ecology?
A: Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the biota (living things), the environment, and their interactions. It comes from the Greek oikos = house; logos = study, and is the study of ecosystems.
Q: Who are ecologists?
A: Ecologists are scientists who study the interactions between living things and their environment.
Q: What areas do ecologists focus on?
A: Ecologists now focus on terrestrial ecoregion and climate change research.
Q: What practical applications does ecology have?
A: Ecology has many practical applications in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agriculture, forestry, fisheries), city planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, and applied science. It also provides a framework for understanding and researching human social interaction.
Q: What does "ecoregion" mean?
A: An ecoregion is a large area with similar environmental characteristics such as climate, soil type or vegetation type that can be used to define an ecological region or unit for conservation purposes.
Q: How does ecology relate to biodiversity?
A: 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.
