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Ecology |
Ecology (from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos) 'house' and -λογία (-logía) 'study of') is thenatural science of the relationships among livingorganisms and theirenvironment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual,population,community,ecosystem, andbiosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences ofbiogeography,evolutionary biology,genetics,ethology, andnatural history. Ecology is a branch ofbiology, and is the study ofabundance,biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment. It encompasses life processes, interactions, andadaptations; movement of materials andenergy through living communities;successional development of ecosystems; cooperation, competition, and predation within and betweenspecies; and patterns ofbiodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes. Ecology has practical applications in fields such asconservation biology,wetland management,natural resource management, andhuman ecology. The termecology (German:Ökologie) was coined in 1866 by the German scientistErnst Haeckel. The science of ecology as we know it today began with a group of American botanists in the 1890s.Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation andnatural selection are cornerstones of modernecological theory. Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living (abiotic) components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such asprimary production,nutrient cycling, andniche construction, regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment. Ecosystems havebiophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living (biotic) and abiotic components of the planet. Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and provideecosystem services likebiomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the regulation ofclimate, globalbiogeochemical cycles,water filtration,soil formation,erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value. (Full article...) Selected article -show another River ecosystems are flowing waters that drain the landscape, and include thebiotic (living) interactions amongst plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well asabiotic (nonliving) physical and chemical interactions of its many parts. Riverecosystems are part of largerwatershed networks or catchments, where smallerheadwater streams drain into mid-size streams, which progressively drain into larger river networks. The major zones in river ecosystems are determined by the river bed's gradient or by the velocity of the current. Faster moving turbulent water typically contains greater concentrations ofdissolved oxygen, which supports greater biodiversity than the slow-moving water of pools. These distinctions form the basis for the division of rivers intoupland and lowland rivers. The food base of streams within riparian forests is mostly derived from the trees, but wider streams and those that lack acanopy derive the majority of their food base fromalgae.Anadromous fish are also an important source ofnutrients. Environmental threats to rivers include loss of water, dams, chemical pollution andintroduced species. Adam produces negative effects that continue down the watershed. The most important negative effects are the reduction ofspring flooding, which damageswetlands, and the retention ofsediment, which leads to the loss of deltaic wetlands. (Full article...) Selected image -show anotherSchoolingbigeye trevally. Inbiology, any group offish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling and if the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling. General imagesThe following are images from various ecology-related articles on Wikipedia.
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| “ | Ethics that focus on human interactions, morals that focus on humanity's relationship to a Creator, fall short of these things we've learned. They fail to encompass the big take-home message, so far, of a century and a half ofbiology andecology:life is—more than anything else—a process; it creates, and depends on, relationships among energy, land, water, air, time and various living things. It's not just about human-to-human interaction; it's not just about spiritual interaction. It's about all interaction. We're bound with the rest of life in a network, a network including not just all living things but the energy and nonliving matter that flows through the living, making and keeping all of us alive as we make it alive. We can keep debating ideologies and sending entreaties toward heaven. But unless we embrace the fuller reality we're in—and reality's implications—we'll face big problems." | ” |
| — Carl Safina |
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Polar Research is a journal of the Norwegian Polar Institute,Norway's central institution for research, on thepolar regions. The journal's articles are interdisciplinary and encompass a wide range of fields frombiology tooceanography. The journal also welcomes socio-economic papers and articles on management. (Full article...)
 | ... thatants exhibiteusociality, a social organization in ahierarchy? (Pictured left: Ameat ant.) |
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