SYBA Ecology

MEANING OF ECOLOGY
Introduction
‘Environmental Biology,’ which is very widely branded, as ‘Ecology’ is a fascinating and one of the fastest and youngest emerging branches of Biology. Since the antiquity, man is involved in finding out the hidden answers of his ecological world. In the olden days he had to know his immediate surroundings as his survival was dependent on this. His priorities then were to detect the actions of the nature, and plants and animals around him. Man has passed many stages since then. Today, ecological knowledge is crucial in taking conservation and preservation measures and in trying to reinstate the planet Earth after the ravages of environmental degradation. At the turn of 20th century, Environment and Ecology have attracted the attention of all the countries of the planet Earth irrespective of being developed or developing, poor or rich due to sensitive link between man – environment, survival and well-being of humankind. The remarkable United Nation’s Convention on “Human Environment” held at Stockholm in 1972 brought to daylight the human impact on environment. Through 1970’s to early 1980’s environmental and ecological disasters were consider as regional concerns. Similarly it is becoming integral component of education in Indian and foreign universities.Meaning of EcologyThe term ‘Ecology’ in its wider sense means scientific investigation of flora, fauna, or population in relation to one another. Ecology is the integrated studies of the complex inter relationships that exist among all different kinds of organisms as well as between themselves and their environment. Moreover, it is the study of all sorts of systems originated out of such inter-relationships between organisms and their surroundings. Therefore Ecology enabled humankind to have novel insight into certain intricacies of the phenomenon of life. Normal biological concepts of life are based on intra individual complexities.Environmental studies prove that no living individual is an ideal or an independent form of life. Instead, the lives of all organisms depend on certain unique interrelationships, interactions and exchanges among the living and non-living. Ecology reveals that the boundary between the living and the non-living is quite thin as the exchanges between both are continuous and intensive (J.G.Ray 1999).Etymology of EcologyA German Zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the term “Ecology” in 1869 by blending two Greek lexis ‘Oikos’ and ‘Logos’ ‘Oikos’ denotes ‘household, or abode, or dwelling, or place to live, or habitation’ and ‘Logos’ means ‘study or science or discourse’. Thus etymologically or terminologically, Ecology deals with organisms and the place where they reside. Generally, Ecology is regarded as the logical and methodical study of the interactions of organisms with their physical environment and with each other’.Definitions of EcologyThe subject matter of Ecology is very complex and intricate. In the last one hundred years ecologists, environmentalists, naturalists, and thinkers have defined Ecology according to their perspective. As on now there is no single commonly established definition on Ecology. Hence to understand the basic concepts, approaches, and themes of ecology, it is essential to appreciate subsequent vital definitions:Ernst Haeckel, who is regarded as the Father of Ecology, defined Ecology in 1869 as ‘the domestic side of organic life’ and ‘the knowledge of the sum of the relations of organisms to the surrounding outer world to organic and inorganic conditions of existence’.In the opinion of Helena Curtis (1975) Ecology is “the scientific study of the interactions of organisms with their physical environment and with each other”. Frederick Clement the author of the book “Plant Succession: An Analysis of the Development of Vegetation” regarded Ecology as “the science of community” in 1916.J. L. Chapman and M. J. Reiss (1995) defined Ecology as the ‘study of organisms in relation to the surroundings in which they live. These surroundings are called the environment of the organism. This environment is made up of many difficult components, including other living organisms and their effects, and purely physical features such as the climate and soil type’.W. P. Taylor chose to describe Ecology as “the science of the relations of all organisms to all their environments” in his work entitled “Ecology” in 1936.According to Eugene P. Odum (1996) Ecology is ‘concerned especially with the biology of groups of organisms and with functional processes on the lands, in the oceans and in fresh waters’. Charles Elton-the well-known and renowned British ecologist in his innovative work labeled “Animal Ecology” defined Ecology as “the scientific natural history concerned with the sociology and economics of animals.”According to Peter Stiling (2002) ‘Ecology involves the study of individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems’.A group consisting of scholars like Allee W. C., Emerson A. E., Park O., Park T., and Schmidt K. P., presented a fundamental definition on Ecology in their pristine work “Principles of Animal Ecology” Ecology as “the science of inter-relation between living organisms and their environment, including both the physical and biotic environments, and emphasizing inter-species as well as intra-species relations”.Krebs (1985) describes Ecology as ‘the scientific study of the interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of organisms’.Woodbury (1955) regarded Ecology as the science which investigates organisms in relation to their environment: a philosophy in which the world of life is interpreted in terms of natural processes.”M.E.Clark (1973) considers Ecology as “a study of ecosystems or the totality of the reciprocal interactions between living organisms and their physical surroundings.”The above definitions, though differ in phraseology, focus mostly on the interrelationship of organisms or in other words to the structure and function of nature. Hence you may take your pick as to which definition you favor.