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Biology LibreTexts

1: Introduction to Ecology

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Learning Objectives
  • Introduce the scope of ecology.
  • Review the nature of science and ecology's place as a branch of the natural sciences.
  • Define the key levels of ecological organization: population, community, and ecosystem.
  • Outline the history and expansion of ecology.

Summary

Ecology is the study of living organisms and their interactions with one another and their environments. This is a very broad definition because the scope of ecology is vast, from the interactions of bacteria and viruses in the human gut to the ebb and flow of carbon dioxide through all the plants of the world.  While ecology is a relatively young scientific discipline, it grew rapidly and now contributes to many issues important to society, such as the management of wildlife, conservation of endangered species, and mitigation of the impacts of climate change.

 


1: Introduction to Ecology is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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