Ecology studies the relationship between living beings and the environment.
Ecology is the scientific specialty focused on the study and analysis of the link that arises between living beings and their surrounding environment, understood as the combination of abiotic factors (among which we can mention climate and geology) and biotic factors (organisms that share the habitat ). Ecology also analyzes the distribution and quantity of living organisms as a result of the aforementioned relationship.
It is worth noting that Ökologie is a concept that dates back to the late 1860s and was coined by the German-born biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel . This word is composed of two Greek words: oikos (which means “house” , “residence” or “home” ) and logos (a term that, translated into English, means “study” ). For this reason, ecology is accurately defined as “the study of homes” .
Historical development of the concept
Although the origin of the term is uncertain, the researcher Haeckel is recognized as one of its creators, who, when he began to develop his experiments, defined it as that branch of science that revolves around the interaction of every living being with the surface that surrounds it. However, over time he extended the concept to include the analysis of the properties of the environment , including the movement of matter and energy and its evolution as a result of the presence of biological groups.
Today, and for several years now, ecology has been closely linked to a diverse political and social movement that attempts to act in defence of the environment, wildlife and biodiversity . Environmentalists make various social complaints, propose the need for legal reforms, promote the creation of protected areas and raise social awareness in order to achieve their main objective, which is the conservation of human health without damaging or altering the balance of natural ecosystems.
For this reason, the ecological cause (also known as the green or environmental movement) focuses on three major issues of universal scope: the preservation and regeneration of natural resources; the protection of wildlife; and the reduction of the level of pollution generated by humanity.
Ecologists analyze how biotic and abiotic factors combine.
Ecology and homeostasis
A fundamental element of ecology is homeostasis , which consists of all species that inhabit a balanced natural environment tending to self-regulate and remain more or less constant in number of inhabitants. In this way, the environment ensures an equitable distribution of resources and never suffers from a shortage of them. In an environment that has been modified by the hand of man, homeostasis is more difficult to find, and for this reason natural imbalances occur.
Ecology is currently considered a branch of biological sciences , responsible for studying the interactions between living organisms and the natural environment in which they live. It is a multidisciplinary science that, in order to develop as such, needs other sciences to understand the entire study of the environment. Among these other sciences are climatology , biology , ethics and chemical engineering .
All biotic processes are characterized by the transfer of energy, and can therefore be studied by physics and understood within its natural laws; chemistry deals with the metabolic and physiological processes of the subsystems because they depend on chemical reactions. The structure of biomes is studied by geology because it is closely related to the geological structure of the environment, and living beings can modify their geology by interacting with the environment.
When it comes to calculations, statistics and projections to draw conclusions from specific and numerical information, mathematics is the branch of science that studies them. In order to study each aspect of life in an ecosystem, ecology always makes use of other sciences , which is why it is said to be multidisciplinary .
The idea of ecology is associated with movements that seek to care for the environment and protect life in all its forms.
The study of ecosystems
Ecology establishes different levels of organization of living beings in order to carry out its studies. In this way, it differentiates between the being (everything that exists, living or inert), the individual (any living being regardless of its species), the species (group of individuals that share a genome, with phenotypic characteristics), the population (individuals of a species that share a habitat), the community (set of populations that share a habitat), the ecosystem (combination and interaction between biotic and abiotic factors in nature), the biome (plant communities that share a geographical area) and the biosphere (set of ecosystems that are part of the planet ; it is an ecological unit that refers to the entire inhabited part of the planet).
Scientists who research and develop theories about ecology are called ecologists . There are two major branches of ecology: autoecology (individual species and their multiple relationships with the environment) and synecology (communities and their relationships with the environment).
Types of ecology according to the object of interest
In turn, according to what ecologists investigate, they collaborate with a certain type of ecology:
- Behavioral ecology is responsible for studying food gathering techniques, adaptations to predation or natural disasters, and reproductive relationships.
- Population ecology is responsible for studying the processes that have to do with homeostasis, distribution and abundance of populations, both animal and plant, fluctuations in the number of individuals of each species, predator-prey relationships and population genetics.
- Community ecology is the study of the functioning and organisational forms of a community made up of interacting populations. These ecologists investigate the ranges of species, the reasons why some are more numerous than others and the factors that affect the stability of the community.
- Paleoecology , on the other hand, is an important area that studies fossil organisms. By studying species from the past, we can understand the techniques of collection, reproduction, etc. that current organisms have.
Climate change
Climate change is one of the main concerns of environmental movements and many governments worldwide. The idea refers to long-term changes in weather patterns and temperatures, which may be of natural origin or caused by humans.
It is understood that, since the 19th century , there has been a climate change underway, motivated by human activities. Specifically, the change is associated with global warming that affects flora , fauna and humanity on a planetary scale.
This global warming is caused primarily by greenhouse gas emissions . These gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide , surround the planet and prevent the sun's rays from hitting the Earth's surface from bouncing back out of the atmosphere .
Pollution is therefore a key driver of global warming , which among other things causes glaciers to melt . Mitigating climate change requires at least a reduction in emissions.
The ozone layer also has an impact on climate change. This layer is responsible for absorbing part of the sun's ultraviolet radiation: when it weakens, more of these rays reach the Earth, which can cause various damages to the environment and to health . Although the hole in the ozone layer was a major concern a few years ago, thanks to political agreements to prohibit the use of chemical substances that threatened the layer, the situation was brought under control.
It is worth noting that the agreements reached by the various countries arise from meetings such as climate summits and other international meetings. From the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted in 1992 , meanwhile, the Kyoto Protocol (in force since 2005 ) and the Paris Agreement ( 2016 ) emerged as a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions .
Ecology and renewable energy
Environmental activists, on the other hand, promote the use of renewable energy to ensure sustainability and foster sustainable development. The sources of these energies are naturally renewable, so they do not become depleted, unlike what happens with non-renewable energies .
Renewable energy is also known as clean energy as it generally has a lower environmental impact than other types of energy. Solar energy and wind energy are some of these types of energy that offer several advantages for the environment.