Outline of ecology
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outline Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edge ...
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 Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
. The environment of an organism includes both physical properties, which can be described as the sum of local abiotic factors such as
solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...
insolation Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m ...
, climate and geology, as well as the other organisms that share its habitat. Also called ecological science. evolution of human and species..


Essence of ecology

* , or * , or ** , or *** **** ***** * **


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 A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...
principally studied, e.g. forest ecology,
grassland ecology A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur nat ...
, desert ecology,
benthic ecology The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning " ...
, marine ecology,
urban ecology Urban ecology is the scientific study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in an urban environment. An urban environment refers to environments dominated by high-density residential and commercial buildings ...
; * 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 Systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, a subset of Earth system science, that takes a holism, holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems. Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general ...
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

* – * – * – the development of ecological theory, usually with mathematical, statistical and/or computer modeling tools.


By spatial scale of ecological system under study

* – * – * .


By level of organisation or scope

Arranged from lowest to highest level of organisation: * – the study of individual organisms of a single species in relation to their environment; * – the study of homogenous or heterogenous groups of organisms in relation to their environment; ** – the study of homogenous groups of organisms related as a single species; ** – the study of heterogenous groups of organisms of multiple associated species; ** .


By biological classification or taxon under study

* – * – * – * – * .


By biome under study

* – * – * – * – * – * – * .


By biogeographic realm or climatic area under study

* – * – * .


By ecological aspects or phenomena under investigation

* – * – which deals with the ecological role of biological chemicals used in a wide range of areas including defense against predators and attraction of mates; * – which studies host-pathogen interactions, particularly those of infectious diseases, within the context of environmental factors; * – which studies the interaction of physiological traits with the abiotic environment; * – which looks at the ecological role of toxic chemicals (often pollutants, but also naturally occurring compounds); * – or ecoevolution which looks at evolutionary changes in the context of the populations and communities in which the organisms exist; * – which looks at the role of fire in the environment of plants and animals and its effect on ecological communities; * – the study of the roles, or functions, that certain species (or groups thereof) play in an ecosystem; * – * – ** – * – * – * – * – the ecology of the pedosphere – * – * – the study of the relationship between temperature and organisms.


Ecology-involved interdisciplinary fields

* – * – the practice of employing ecological principles and understanding to solve real world problems (includes
agroecology Agroecology (US: a-grō-ē-ˈkä-lə-jē) is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The ...
and
conservation biology Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...
); ** – which studies how to reduce the risk of species extinction; ** – which attempts to understand the ecological basis needed to restore impaired or damaged ecosystems; * – * – * – * – * – * – ** – * – * – * – * – * –


Other disciplines

Ecology has also inspired (and lent its name to) other non-biological disciplines such as: * Media ecology * Industrial ecology *
Information ecology Information ecology is the application of ecological concepts for modeling the information society. It considers the dynamics and properties of the increasingly dense, complex and important digital informational environment. "Information ecology" of ...


Biogeographic regions

*


Terrestrial realms

. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) developed a system of eight biogeographic realms (ecozones): * 22.9 mil. km² (including most of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
) * 54.1 mil. km² (including the bulk of Eurasia and North Africa) * 22.1 mil. km² (including
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
) * 7.5 mil. km² (including the
South Asian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...
and Southeast Asia) * 7.7 mil. km² (including
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, New Guinea, and neighbouring islands). The northern boundary of this zone is known as the Wallace line. * 19.0 mil. km² (including South America and the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
) * 1.0 mil. km² (including Polynesia,
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
and Micronesia) * 0.3 mil. km² (including Antarctica).


Ecoregions

The World has over 800 terrestrial ecoregions. ''See Lists of ecoregions by country.''


History of ecology

* History of human ecology


General ecology concepts

* ** *** *** *** ** * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * ** ** * * * * * Niche differentiation – The process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist. * ** ** ** *** *** ** Coexistence theory – A framework to understand and explain how ecologically similar species can coexist without competitively excluding each other ** ** ** *


See also

* * ** **


References


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)
{{Outline footer Ecology Ecology *