Portal:Ecology

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Ecology

Ecology (from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos) 'house', and -λογία (-logía) 'study of') is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences of biogeography, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology, and natural history.

Ecology is a b

branch of biology, and is the study of abundance, biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment. It encompasses life processes, interactions, and adaptations; movement of materials and energy through living communities; successional development of ecosystems; cooperation, competition, and predation within and between species; and patterns of biodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes.

Ecology has practical applications in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agroecology, agriculture, forestry, agroforestry, fisheries, mining, tourism), urban planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, basic and applied science, and human social interaction (human ecology).

The word ecology (German: Ökologie) was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel. The science of ecology as we know it today began with a group of American botanists in the 1890s. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection are cornerstones of modern ecological theory.

Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living (abiotic) components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, nutrient cycling, and niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment. Ecosystems have biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living (biotic) and abiotic components of the planet. Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and provide ecosystem services like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value. (Full article...)

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Blue carbon is a concept within climate change mitigation that refers to "biologically driven carbon fluxes and storage in marine systems that are amenable to management." Most commonly, it refers to the role that tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrasses can play in carbon sequestration. These ecosystems can play an important role for climate change mitigation and ecosystem-based adaptation. However, when blue carbon ecosystems are degraded or lost they release carbon back to the atmosphere, thereby adding to greenhouse gas emissions.

The methods for blue carbon management fall into the category of "ocean-based biological carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods". They are a type of biological carbon fixation. (Full article...)
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Credit: User:Krokodild
Termite mounds in Tanzania with varied heights of chimneys regulate gas exchange, temperature and other environmental parameters that are needed to sustain the internal physiology of the entire termite colony.
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Related WikiProjects

WikiProject Ecology


  • WikiProject Environment
  • WikiProject Ecoregions
  • WikiProject Extinction
  • WikiProject Biology
  • WikiProject Protected areas
  • WikiProject Forestry
  • WikiProject Soil
  • WikiProject Agriculture
  • WikiProject Science


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Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Tiger as flagship species for a campaign in Tamil Nadu, India

In conservation biology, a flagship species is a species chosen to raise support for biodiversity conservation in a given place or social context. Definitions have varied, but they have tended to focus on the strategic goals and the socio-economic nature of the concept, to support the marketing of a conservation effort. The species need to be popular, to work as symbols or icons, and to stimulate people to provide money or support.

Species selected since the idea was developed in 1980s include widely recognised and charismatic species like the black rhinoceros, the Bengal tiger, and the Asian elephant. Some species such as the Chesapeake blue crab and the Pemba flying fox, the former of which is locally significant to Northern America, have suited a cultural and social context. (Full article...)

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Dr. Exequiel Ezcurra on Isla San Pedro Mártir

Exequiel Ezcurra (born March 21, 1950, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine-Mexican plant ecologist and conservationist. His highly interdisciplinary work spans desert plant ecology, mangroves, island biogeography, sea birds, fisheries, oceanography, and deep-sea ecosystems.

Between 2008 and 2019 he was director of the University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States. He is now Professor of Plant Ecology at UC Riverside. (Full article...)

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If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.
— Albert Einstein

Ecology news

From the Wikinews Environment portal
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  • April 23: European Union to reduce carbon emissions by 55% of 1990 levels by 2030
  • November 27: Wikinews interviews Craig Farquharson, Liberal Democrat candidate for 2020 Groom by-election
  • November 27: Wikinews interviews Sandra Jephcott, Sustainable Australia candidate for 2020 Groom by-election
  • December 14: Greta Thunberg named 2019 Time Person of the Year
  • November 23: Researchers break down deaths due to power plant pollution in the United States
  • November 21: Slippery business: Materials scientists invent new coating for self-cleaning, water-efficient toilets
  • October 19: Northern Arapaho Tribe welcomes buffalo herd in Wyoming, United States
  • October 12: Scientists describe how 'upside-down rivers' of warm water break Antarctica's ice shelf
  • October 5: Voracious fish defend coral reefs against warming, say scientists
  • September 8: Scientists report skyrocketing phytoplankton population in aftermath of Kīlauea eruption

Additional News Highlights
  • November 5, 2009: "New ocean forming in African desert."
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Crop Biotech Update is a weekly e-newsletter published by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology that summarizes global news on agricultural biotechnology with implications for developing countries, highlights of research, documents and events. CBU also comes with a bi-monthly Biofuels Supplement that features new developments in energy crops production, processing, policy, and economics. (Full article...)

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... systems ecology is an interdisciplinary field of ecology, taking a holistic approach to the study of ecological systems, especially ecosystems? Systems ecology can be seen as an application of general systems theory to ecology. Central to the systems ecology approach is the idea that an ecosystem is a complex system exhibiting emergent properties.
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Associated Wikimedia

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  • Commons
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  • Wikibooks
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  • Wikidata
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  • Wikinews
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  • Wikiquote
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  • Wikisource
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  • Wikiversity
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  • Wiktionary
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Web resources

  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Ecology
  • The Encyclopedia of Earth – Ecology
  • The Nature Education Knowledge Project – Ecology
  • National Geographic – Ecology


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