Ecology

The ecology (Greek οἶκος oikos, house ', the household' and λόγος logos, teaching ' ie, doctrine of the household ', formerly Mesologie ) is originally the subdiscipline of biology that studies the relationships of organisms with each other and with their abiotic environment. Direct sense of the term is sometimes used bio-ecology, to differentiate this with respect to the geo-ecology.

With a growing environmental awareness in the second half of the 20th century, the term has developed far beyond the narrow scientific context of the biology and has since been often used interchangeably with terms such as environmental protection or environmental and confused with this. Ecological findings have since been transferred increasingly to philosophical and social areas and used for political reasoning to describe the relationship of man to his environment (see below). The term has thus experienced a meaning extension or shift and called today often the behaviors that contribute to environmental protection and sustainable management. The basis of all these developments, that in addition to the scientific study of the environmental relationships of living organisms and the ( interdisciplinary ) analysis of the environmental relationships of entities that are neither living organisms nor from these exist (such as human societies, cities, etc.) is referred to as ' ecology '.

Definition

The ecology is compared to the classical disciplines of biology is still relatively young sub-discipline of biology. The first definition of the term dates back to the year 1866 by Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist and supporter of Darwinism. Haeckel meant by ecology the study of the conditions of living beings in the struggle for existence and the economy of nature:

"Under Oecologie we understand the whole science of the relations of the organism to the surrounding outside world, where we are all in the broad sense " can be expected conditions of existence ". These are partly organic and partly inorganic nature; both these and those are, as we have shown previously to adapt of the greatest importance for the shape of the organisms, because they force the same to them. "

The very far-reaching definition Haeckel was modified within the history of ecological research at different viewing directions. Today you can find in textbooks different definitions of the research object, often depicting a concretization of the original definition. So writes about Bick (1998) "Ecology is the science of matter and energy budget of the biosphere and its subunits (eg ecosystems ) and of the interrelationships between the different organisms, between organisms and the forces acting on them environmental factors as well as between the individual inanimate environmental factors. "

In the context of evolutionary biology research, the findings of the distribution factors and speciation have been added so taken around in Lampert / Summer ( 1993) from cancer ( 1985) to read is "Ecology is the science that deals with the interactions, the spread the and the occurrence of the organisms determined. ".

Ecology describes according to all aspects of the interaction of organisms with their environment. This includes both the animated ( biotic ) environment, including other organisms of the same and other species, as well as the non-living ( abiotic ) environment, and brings them in systemare functional relationships, which is designed as a conceptual model of an ecosystem.

Research subject

The consideration of the ecology can be narrowed down to this day, despite the variety of ecological sub-disciplines, especially on the three areas of population ecology, ecology of communities and the ecosystem approach. The main problems relate to the ecological diversity and the relationship between diversity and stability. Under evolutionary point of view, the object of research can, however, combine to questions of distribution and the frequency of organisms: where organisms are found, and how many of them there are, the environment in the form of biotic and abiotic environmental factors recorded all those conditions and phenomena that these two aspects influence.

One difficulty of the object of study is the high complexity of biological systems that need to be taken into account. Artbezogene details are less prominent than unifying, generalized statements that you try to win with descriptive, mathematical, statistical and experimental methods. The ecological research attempts accordingly to reduce complex impact structure on recordable basic scientific statements, and to formulate their own, typical for these ecological systems laws.

Traditional ecological issues are examined and taught on three levels. These are the interactions of the individual organism and the environment ( autecology ), the interactions of plant and animal populations against each other and the environment ( population ecology ), and finally the interactions within biological systems ( Synecology ).

Ecology of Species: Autecology

The autecology, more rarely, Car ecology, deals with the interactions between a single species and their environment. Here, the effects of individual environmental factors such as food, light, moisture, pressure, salt content, oxygen, etc. as assayed for single individuals this way, the combined effects of each of these factors on an individual organisms. Result, the adjustments to the species under consideration to their environment can be identified and described. At the same time the effects of species are examined for their environment.

Every living organism is viable only within certain tolerances of the respective environmental factors. These specific adaptations of a species are summarized by the concept of ecological niche.

Ecology of reproductive units: Population Ecology

The population ecology ( often also called " Demökologie " ) also deals with the interactions between a single species and their environment. Here, however, more quantitative aspects are considered within a population. For example, populations with complex age composition or variable gender composition are investigated by demographic methods and analyzes to determine trends and fluctuations in their frequency. Both the observation of individuals and their impact on populations as well as the direct observation of characteristics of the populations and the link with specific environmental factors be pursued at this level.

In Mitberücksichtigung genetic aspects (genetic structure, population genetic aspects) one also speaks of population biology. Long-term changes as a result of evolutionary processes traditionally do not belong in the population ecology, but in the population biology and evolutionary ecology.

Ecology of ecological associations or biological communities: Synecology

The Synecology studies ecological societies, which are units from organisms at least two different ways. On the one hand interspecific interactions within an ecological society or biocenosis are examined, on the other hand, their dependencies on the biotope. Biotope and biocenosis form the ecosystem of model unit. Subject of Synecology accordingly, the composition, organization and structure of ecological associations or biological communities and their throughput of energy, nutrients and other resources. An essential content is the study of the interactions in the context of interspecific relationships, which include competition, predator-prey relationships ( predation in the narrow sense ), herbivory, host-parasite relationships and cooperative relationships ( mutualism ). As in the population ecology, mathematical and statistical methods for describing and modeling are used frequently. The Synecology is characterized by a number of long -lasting controversy about the principles of the organization and the ontological status of ecological communities and ecosystems. Usual juxtapositions are eg:

• Holism / individualism and organicism
• Realism and constructivism and community -unit theory and continuum theory
• Equilibrium and disequilibrium theories

In simple systems, which often consist of only two types (sometimes referred to in English as Bisysteme ), attempts (eg by long-term studies using computer simulations) to understand through observation and experiment, the dynamics in biological communities.

Complex species communities can be made both by reduction to partial aspects manageable. On the other complex biological communities with the help of already known (smaller ) systems are described. One example is the attempt to describe synecological units analogous to organisms, so to capture their properties analogous to those of living organisms. An example of the strategy of reduction to partial aspects is the restriction to the study of trophic interactions with a summary of species according to trophic levels. By reducing certain aspects of the Synecology gaining knowledge about the energy flow in the food web. Species are thereby divided into producers, consumers and decomposers. This can be described as new biomass is produced and again decomposed dead organic substance in their inorganic constituents and re-recorded by the living creatures, so a circuit which, with few exceptions, is ultimately driven by the sun. Furthermore, it is possible to explore the material and energy turnover in these complex systems.

History of Ecology

One of the founders of ecology are counted among other things, Ernst Haeckel, Justus von Liebig, Charles Darwin, Karl August Möbius, Aldo Leopold, Ellen Swallow Richards, Arthur George Tansley and August Thienemann. As the "father of ecology" in the Anglo- American sphere applies the Danish explorer and botanist Johannes Eugenius Bülow Warming. Carl Schroeter 1902 coined the terms autecology and Synecology.

Methodology

The ecological field research can take place very different, build around a large area on the basis of geographically accrued ecotope - areas, resulting from habitats and biological communities ( communities ), or on the basis of individuals or populations of individual species. As a multidisciplinary field of research the ecology interacts with a number of other biological disciplines, particularly of evolutionary biology and genetics, as well as with some of Geosciences.

The ecology and particularly its sub-disciplines are highly dependent on methods and research results from other scientific areas. Depending on the problem are further findings sciences such as geography, climatology, economics, geology, ethnology, psychology, ea utilized. Methods of Autecology are, inter alia, Field and laboratory studies, similar works, the Physiological Ecology.

In addition to basic research, especially the Applied Ecology plays a central role. It will seek to develop by understanding the ecological relationships models to solve real existing problems. It is, inter alia, issues arising from the nature and species protection, the economic importance of ecosystems, agriculture and forestry.

Neighboring disciplines

The ecology, because of its holistic article, a series of overlapping fields with most other disciplines of biology (especially zoology, botany, microbiology, behavioral biology and genetics) as well as with other natural and earth sciences (eg, physics, chemistry, soil science, climatology). Even with the fields of sociology, anthropology, and economics, there is an overlap. In addition, it uses methods of mathematics and computer science for modeling complex ecological phenomena.

As a cross- discipline or roof science it is based on the findings of all these faculties and considers these as they apply them to the higher level of living nature. This total correlations can be detected and analyzed at the same time affects the ecology of this level of consideration to the different disciplines back and allows questions that can not be seen within it.

Sub-disciplines of ecology

Due to a growing importance of ecology to provide input to the understanding of environmental and social issues different ecological sub-disciplines which are described in many cases can also be found in the designation of research institutes arose.

• An outline refers to the groups of organisms that are each examined. A distinction between animal ecology, plant ecology and microbial ecology.
• A further breakdown is given by the large habitats on earth. Considering this is the marine Ecology ( Marine Ecology ), the freshwater ecology ( limnology ) and the Terrestrial Ecology ( Ecology mainland ).
• Theoretical ecology, research ex situ and in situ on the basic principles of ecology ( trophic levels, Evolutionary Ecology, etc.). From theoretical ecology arose the discipline of ecological modeling today partially applied.
• The Geoecology, which ( so soil, leachate and groundwater) investigated the interaction of abiotic subsystems with each other and with biotic subsystems is established at some universities as an independent geoscience -oriented professional.
• The Soil Ecology studies the relationships on the earth's surface in terms of, for example, on agriculture and soil fertility. It is a branch of Geoecology.
• The molecular ecology studies the molecular genetic bases of populations and communities and their changes.
• The human ecology examines the interactions between people and the environment ("man and environment ").
• The civilization ecology is primarily concerned with the impact of technological civilization on organisms and habitats, and the so-called environmental problems and possible solutions to cope with and is also established in some universities as a separate subject. The branch of ecology civilization is landscape ecology.
• Especially hemerobe ecosystems are the subject of Agroecology and Urban Ecology.
• Behavioral ecology examined in the broadest sense, the interactions of behavioral and environmental factors.
• The chemical ecology explores the role of chemical signals in the interactions of organisms among others. This results in practical applications are the development of new methods for biological pest control.
• The paleoecology, which examines the ecological relationships of yesteryear and earth periods.

Expansion and popularization of the concept of ecology

UNESCO contributed substantially to that of the ecological research approach was used and popularized. Already through its International Biological year and by the " Man and Biosphere " program, the research developed far beyond the narrow scientific context of biology. In the 1960s, also broke at the age of environmental protection. In Ecology and 'organic' under the Resource and healthy environment since many friendly, sustainable use of nature and also a " natural " life understood.

Great deal of interest, the American biologist Rachel Carson in 1962 with its warning of a " dumb Spring", which ultimately led to an almost global ban on DDT and other persistent environmental toxins. For the first time ecological and environmental protective concerns have been publicity connected. Ecological knowledge is also increasingly set with areas of society in relationship and partially transferred to them. Other pulse were published by the Club of Rome study Limits to Growth (1972) and the report to the U.S. President Global 2000 (1980).

As people are indeed bound to a biological environment, but this changed inadvertently or deliberately, also contributed to political intentions help to use the term ecology in general environmental contexts. The ecology quickly became the " leading science " of this " ecology movement ". By the word ecology but found its way into the daily vernacular, its meaning changed content. The originally neutral science has a positive connotation, so that ecologically used interchangeably in part with environmentally friendly, clean, considerate, or even with good or right. The short form " eco " in combination with names which are linked to an ecological economic models together, sits enhanced by: eg organic farmer, eco-city, eco-estate, green energy or green energy, eco-fashion, " ökofair " ( ecologically grown and fair traded ). Even if some of it is marketing, it documented the advance of the principle of sustainability into everyday life.

In the context of social-ecological research also the material and symbolic relations between society and nature are examined and an attempt made ​​to find solutions to social problems of sustainability.