When asked what ecology is (which happens pretty often since it is my major), I find it hard to define in a concise sentence. Ecology is the study of “living relations”. It is the study of animals, plants, and the entire environment. Ecology can be extremely specific or all-encompassing. Often I find myself defining ecology as the study of everything (the world), how we influence and are influenced by our surroundings and our actions. That is not the most precise answer but I believe it is correct all the same.
Science is thought of as a very precise study of an aspect of the universe. Physics is a study of the laws of nature; defining movement, time, matter, and space. Yet physics was not always such a clear science. Physics was once a very philosophical field and it evolved into the precise science it is today. I believe ecology is too young a science to have definitive borders. Many aspects of ecology fit within the margins of countless other sciences. As long as a scientist (no matter his/her field) is studying an aspect of life within the context of its surroundings, he/she may very well be studying ecology.
The reality that ecology may be studied within many disciplines is very positive. It is well known that the many systems (climate, topography, ecosystems…) of the world are all interconnected. So, it is a wonderful perk to be able to use the expertise of a geologist and biologist as one tries to understand the migration patterns of a species. Ecology as a field of study is able to grow immensely in a short amount of time due to the data pouring in from so many sources. As the science of ecology continues to grow and the interactions between the systems of our world are better understood, ecology will become a more precise science. Every ecologist’s discovery will help identify the scope of this field.
I hope that I will be a part of the process of defining ecology. The fact that ecology fits within the scope of nearly every science is one of the main reasons it is my favorite science. I want to understand the workings of the world and the only way to come close to accomplishing that is to combine all the disciplines of science in an attempt to understand how they relate to each other. In the end, that is how I define ecology, the study of everything.
"The study of everything"...I really like this, and agree with this. This is a fantastic definition in both its simplicity and its complexity. You are so right--ecology is every science working together to discover how anything and everything in this world works together. Such a great way of looking at the science, I am going to start telling people this when they ask what exactly ecology is..because I get asked a lot as well.
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