Introduction to Ecology

The word ecology comes from the Greek word oikos, meaning "home" or "a place to live." The Greek philosopher Theophrastus was one of the first people to discuss the relationship between living things and their environments. German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the term oikologie, defined as the relationship of an animal to both its organic and inorganic environment, particularly those plants and animals with which it comes in contact.

Until the early 20th Century, biologists concentrated on descriptive studies of plants and animals. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, for example, developed from his observations while recording the natural history of plants and animals. As human civilization subdued nature, people stopped perceiving it as the enemy. The near extinction of common species like the beaver led to the beginning of the conservation movement. By the 1930s, nature study became part of the curriculum of most schools, but organisms were still viewed in isolation rather than as communities.

Human development degraded the environment because people did not understand their relationship with it; that we have as much impact on our surroundings as they do on us.

No single individual did more to change this than Rachel Carson. Her book, Silent Spring (1962), warned how the abuse of chemicals was destroying wildlife while also harming the human environment. This raised massive public interest in nature. By the 1970s ecology, formerly an obscure science became a household word.

Ecology is a complex science. It is considered interdisciplinary because it draws on many areas of knowledge such as organic and inorganic chemistry, meteorology, economics and the dynamics of populations. The modern definition of ecology is:

The scientific discipline that is concerned with the relationship between organisms and their past, present and future environments, both living and non-living.

It may take one of these important perspectives or concepts:

• Landscape
• Ecosystem
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