Ecology is a branch of biological sciences that studies the interactions between different living organisms and the environment that surrounds us. In view of the complexity of the relationships between living beings, ecologists have developed different branches such as population ecology, biogeochemistry, community ecology and others. I invite you to know the different Branches of Ecology.
The Science of Ecology
The word "Ecology" originates from the Greek word "Oikos" which means home and the word "logo" means study. This means that the term "Ecology" refers to the study of the house and the house of all living beings, that is, the "Environment or Environment". The term ökologie was attributed by the German philosopher and naturalist Ernst Haeckel in the year 1869.
Once its origin is known, it has to be known what the discipline of "Ecology" encompasses, this is the science that studies the interrelation between the environment that surrounds us and all living beings. Its objective is to study the behavior of the different biotic and abiotic components with the environment. This science allows you to evaluate the variety of factors that affect populations and their distribution.
Ecology is related as a science to the specialties of biology and earth sciences. So also with genetics, ethology, geography. Projects where ecological studies are applied seek to identify how biological diversity affects all ecosystems on the planet.
Branches of ecology
Through ecological sciences, it is possible to understand the importance of the conservation of animal species (including the human species) and plants and to know their relationship with abiotic factors, which make up the different ecosystems. The Branches of Ecology are varied, due to the fact that it seeks to cover through different branches to analyze the complex interactions that occur in the environment, whether in natural and artificial ecosystems.
biogeography
Biogeography is the branch of ecology that studies the geography of the biosphere. The objective of this Branch of Ecology is to study the distribution of all living organisms in different environmental systems or ecosystems. Taking into account all the factors that affect, that is, it studies the impacts of living organisms on natural spaces. It is a branch of ecology that complements biology and physical geography.
Chemical ecology
Through this Branch of Ecology called Chemical Ecology, it has the objective of studying the chemical compounds that impact living organisms. Its main study is to understand the associations of the different chemical compounds that participate in the processes of growth, reproduction and coexistence.
biogeochemistry
This branch studies the interaction of all living organisms and the different geochemical components and has the objective of analyzing the different functions of biotic and abiotic compounds, starting from their cellular organization to the ecosystems where they participate. This Branch of Ecology studies the different biogeochemical cycles, in order to interpret the behavior of the different chemical elements between biotic organisms and abiotic organisms that are part of the environment during the various processes.
Also, understand how the cycles of nitrogen, potassium, hydrogen, oxygen and other existing elements occur. Currently, this Branch of Ecology also includes in its study the processes and factors involved in food production processes, climate change, recycling and pollution.
Community Ecology
This Branch of Ecology, which is called Community Ecology, has the objective of studying the behavior of a certain group of species that cohabit in a certain space. Through this Branch of Ecology, it studies the behavior of living organisms and evaluates their impact on the environment.
Succession Ecology
This branch studies the progressive changes or natural replacement of biotic organisms that are part of an ecosystem by others. These changes are studied to see how they impact the composition of a community. From the study of ecological successions we get to know the origin and evolution of species.
Applied Ecology
Applied ecology studies through ecological methods and criteria, resolve environmental conflicts. With the intention of recovering the environmental balance of those spaces where at some point the environment has been negatively impacted by the effects of pollution due to the actions of negative habits of people and institutions.
Ecotoxicology
The function of this Branch of Ecology is to monitor the path that leads to the generation of toxic waste that can impact the environment. This with the purpose of creating a strategy that responds to how to avoid pollution damage and thus avoid any risk that may affect all living organisms. The Ecotoxicology Branch helps to study the degree of contamination of the environment, the exposure time that can affect health and other factors indicating toxicity.
The Ecophysiology Branch
It allows to keep track of physiological factors that may be interacting with abiotic factors in the environment. Ecophysiologists study all environmental factors such as precipitation, biogeochemical cycles, temperature changes, seasonality, and others. In addition to how the intervention of the human hand through individually organized groups can affect the energy exchanges between living beings and their environment.
Landscape Ecology
Through the Landscape Ecology Branch, the professional will be able to know and study the connections and interrelationships between the components of the landscape, taking into account the temporal, structural and cultural elements. Its purpose is to internalize in the conscience of the individual and the communities, the defense, protection and knowledge of the dynamics of the landscape of the place where we all live.
Functional ecology
This branch helps to study the functioning and organization of ecological systems. It has the purpose of studying and conserving living beings through the scientific understanding of each of their behaviors. Seeks that all members of society learn to make a rational use of natural resources. Functional ecology is a branch that works in a multifunctional way with data from professions such as sociology, economics and culture.
fire ecology
This branch allows studying the influence of fires in natural places and their impact on biotic and abiotic factors that affect the biodiversity of the affected place. This study allows a detailed analysis of the consequences that forest fires have caused on an ecosystem. It allows to know the effect of the fires on the living beings that have received their impact.
Marine ecology
It allows monitoring the behavior of marine life in the different strata of marine environments. This branch helps to know the interrelationships of the activities carried out by human beings with the marine environment. Likewise, keep track of the dynamics of the species and how their intervention can impact the processes of feeding, reproduction, interspecific relationships and intraspecific relationships, and behavior in general.
macroecology
The main objective of the branch of macroecology is the study of ecological processes. Specifically, those carried out on large scales. Through the application of this Branch of Ecology, it is possible to design and carry out a scheme that studies the patterns that indicate the behavior of communities, data that can be extrapolated and contribute with other complementary disciplines.
global ecology
This Branch of Ecology is responsible for carrying out a study in conjunction with other disciplines that complement ecology, and from this global vision to study the different environmental situations and problems. Through this branch, we study how elements of biochemical origin affect social behavior. This branch analyzes the effects of climate change and its impact on the behavior of living beings.
Hierarchical ecology
This branch of ecology has the objective of studying the structure of organic components. The hierarchical ecology branch studies the different orders that all living beings and abiotic components of the environment occupy according to their classifications. From the atom, cells, tissues, organs to ecosystems and the biosphere.
individual ecology
This branch carries out studies of the ecology of each individual and their interaction with their environment, comparing their behavior with other living organisms in this way, their similarities and differences between them are studied. It also studies its characteristics: reproductive, physiological, genetic, metabolic processes and others. Individual Ecology studies how long a turtle lives, how it behaves, and other data of interest to determine the impact of the environment on these animals.
Population ecology
This deals with monitoring the populations of living beings, in order to analyze the behavior of each species within their populations, for this it studies their life cycle, behavior and interrelationships with other species. Analyze how it affects the different ecological niches, different populations and species in the same habitat at a given time.
ecosystem ecology
Through this branch, the different behaviors that occur between species are studied, with respect to how the effects of abiotic components, in the ecosystem where they live and different biotopes, and other influencing factors. This branch measures the flows of chemical elements found in nature, such as: potassium, iron, phosphorus or magnesium. It studies the relationship between a fungus or bacteria so that organic matter is produced in nature.
I invite you to continue learning about the wonderful nature, reading the following posts: