What is ecology?

The word "ecology" has been used so often in recent times that it is not always possible to say with certainty what is meant.

"Ecology" has become a buzzword. Many people do not know the difference between ecology and environmental protection, believing that ecology is about clean air and industrial emissions.


 
So what is ecology? Perhaps to answer this question, we need to recall a little history of this very young science...

...So, ecology began as a branch of biology studying the relationship of organisms with their environment. The first ecological studies are probably attributed to the works of Aristotle, the father of zoology. "Daddy" described more than 500 species of animals, indicating, among other things, the nature of their habitats - and this is already the field of ecology. The term "ecology" itself was proposed in 1866 by Haeckel (before that other variants - "epirriology", "bionomics" - but they did not catch on). The term "ecology", as we know, comes from the Greek roots "oikos" - "abode" and "logos" - "science". That is, it is the science of the relationship between organisms and their environment (not the science of home, as some "wits" write).

 The modern definition of ecology is as follows: Ecology is renewable energy the science of interrelations of organisms among themselves and with their surrounding inorganic environment; of interrelations in superorganic systems, of the structure and functioning of these systems. (in literature it is certainly possible to meet a lot of definitions, sometimes narrowing, sometimes vaguely broadening the sphere of ecology as a science; this definition, first of all, covers area of classical bioecology).

In simple terms, ecology studies the relations between organisms and their environment, between which a multitude of relationships arise. These relationships help organisms to exist in nature, not as chaotic aggregations, but by forming communities - sub-organismic systems (populations, biocenoses, ecosystems - discussed in later lessons), which are also the subject of ecology...

... Communities of interacting organisms are not a random collection of species but rather a well-defined system, rather stable, with a relatively constant structure and a mutually interdependent set of species, linked by numerous internal links. Such systems are called biotic communities or biocenoses (Latin for 'biological community') and systems comprising living organisms and their habitat are called ecosystems. There is also the term 'biogeocoenosis', which also means a system of biological community and its habitat, but we will explain the difference between ecosystems and biogeocenoses in a later lesson.

 
Thus, an ecosystem is a collection of interacting species of plants, animals, fungi, micro-organisms, interacting with each other and their environment in such a way that such a community can persist and function for an indefinitely long time. A biotic community (biocenosis) consists of a community of plants (phytocenosis), a community of animals (zoocenosis), and a community of microorganisms (microbocenosis). All organisms of the Earth and their habitat also constitute a higher ranking ecosystem, the biosphere or wind power of earth. The biosphere also has the resilience and other properties of an ecosystem.

 
Each species in a biotic community plays a specific ecological role. Scientists to date have not described even a tenth of all the species that inhabit the planet, especially insects and micro-organisms are poorly understood. However, it is suggested that micro-organisms may play a leading role in the sustainability of the entire biosphere. Because the role of each individual species is poorly understood, it is not certain that the extinction of a single species will not have a major impact on the stability of an ecosystem or the biosphere. A famous 'ecological adage' by B. Kommoner, 'Nature knows best', is connected to this. In other words, changing something in natural communities without knowing exactly how nature "works" does not seem like the most sensible approach