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1.4: Subdisciplines of Ecology

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    Skills to Develop: 

    • Appreciate the diversity of ecological studies 
    • Understand how ecology interacts with other fields

     

    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

    • Field ecology – Collection of information outside a laboratory, library or workplace setting
    • Quantitative ecology – the application of advanced mathematical and statistical tools to any number of problems in the field of ecology
    • Theoretical ecology – the development of ecological theory, usually with mathematical, statistical and/or computer modeling tools.

    By spatial scale of ecological system under study

    • Global ecology – The global sum of all ecosystems on Earth
    • Macroecology – Study of relationships between organisms and their environment at large spatial scales
    • Microecology – Microbial ecology or ecology of a microhabitat

    By level of organisation or scope

    Arranged from lowest to highest level of organisation:[1]

    • Autecology – the study of individual organisms of a single species in relation to their environment
    • Synecology – the study of homogenous or heterogenous groups of organisms in relation to their environment
      • Population ecology – Study of the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment – the study of homogenous groups of organisms related as a single species
      • Community ecology – Associated populations of species in a given area – the study of heterogenous groups of organisms comprised of multiple associated species
      • Ecosystem ecology – Study of living and non-living components of ecosystems and their interactions

    By biological classification or taxon under study

    • Human ecology – Study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments
    • Animal ecology – Scientific study of the relationships between living animals and their environment
    • Insect ecology – The study of how insects interact with the surrounding environment
    • Microbial ecology – Study of the relationship of microorganisms with their environment
    • Plant ecology – The study of effect of the environment on the abundance and distribution of plants.

    By biome under study

    • Benthic ecology – The study of the interaction of sea-floor organisms with each other and with the environment
    • Desert ecology – The study of interactions between both biotic and abiotic components of desert environments
    • Forest ecology – Study of interactions between the biota and environment in forests
    • Grassland ecology – Area with vegetation dominated by grasses
    • Marine ecology – The study of the interactions between organisms and environment in the sea
    • Aquatic ecology – The study of interactions between organisms and the environment in water
    • Urban ecology – Study of the relation of living organisms with each other and their surroundings in the context of an urban environment

    By biogeographic realm or climatic area under study

    • Arctic ecology – The study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic
    • Polar ecology – The relationship between plants and animals and a polar environment
    • Tropical ecology – The study of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the tropics.

    By ecological aspects or phenomena under investigation

    • Behavioral ecology – Study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures
    • Chemical ecology – Study of chemically-mediated interactiond between living organisms – which deals with the ecological role of biological chemicals used in a wide range of areas including defense against predators and attraction of mates
    • Disease ecology – Sub-discipline of ecology – which studies host-pathogen interactions, particularly those of infectious diseases, within the context of environmental factors;
    • Ecophysiology – Study of adaptation of an organism's physiology to environmental conditions – which studies the interaction of physiological traits with the abiotic environment
    • Ecotoxicology – which looks at the ecological role of toxic chemicals (often pollutants, but also naturally occurring compounds)
    • Evolutionary ecology – Interaction of biology and evolution – or ecoevolution which looks at evolutionary changes in the context of the populations and communities in which the organisms exist
    • Fire ecology – Study of fire in ecosystems – which looks at the role of fire in the environment of plants and animals and its effect on ecological communities
    • Functional ecology – the study of the roles, or functions, that certain species (or groups thereof) play in an ecosystem
    • Genetic ecology – Study of genetic material in the environment
    • Landscape ecology – Science of relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems
      • Landscape limnology – Spatially explicit study of lakes, streams, and wetlands as they interact with freshwater, terrestrial, and human landscapes to determine the effects of pattern on ecosystem processes across temporal and spatial scales
    • Molecular ecology – A field of evolutionary biology that applies molecular population genetics, molecular phylogenetics, and genomics to traditional ecological questions –
    • Paleoecology – Study of interactions between organisms and their environments across geologic timescales
    • Social ecology – Study of relationships between people and their environment
    • Soil ecology – the ecology of the pedosphere
    • Spatial ecology – Study of the distribution or space occupied by species
    • Thermal ecology – the study of the relationship between temperature and organisms.

    Ecology-involved interdisciplinary fields

    • Agroecology – Study of ecological processes in agriculture
    • Applied ecology – the practice of employing ecological principles and understanding to solve real world problems (includes agroecology and conservation biology);
      • Conservation ecology – Study of threats to biological diversity – which studies how to reduce the risk of species extinction
      • Restoration ecology – Scientific study of renewing and restoring ecosystems – which attempts to understand the ecological basis needed to restore impaired or damaged ecosystems
    • Biogeochemistry – Study of chemical cycles of the earth that are either driven by or influence biological activity
    • Biogeography – Study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time
    • Ecological design – Design that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes
    • Ecological economics – Interdependence of human economies and natural ecosystems
    • Ecological engineering – Environmental engineering
    • Ecological anthropology – Study of cultural adaptations to environments
      • Festive ecology – Study of the relationships between the symbolism and the ecology of the plants, fungi and animals associated with cultural events
    • Ecological health
    • Ecosophy – Philosophy of ecological harmony or equilibrium as developed by Arne Næss or Félix Guattari
    • Environmental psychology – Academic study of the mind's relationship to one's immediate surroundings
    • Natural history – Study of organisms including plants or animals in their environment
    • Systems ecology – Holistic approach to the study of ecological systems

    Other disciplines

    Ecology has also inspired (and lent its name to) other non-biological disciplines such as:

    1.4: Subdisciplines of Ecology is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.