Changes

The term ecology or ''oekologie'' was coined by the German biologist [[Ernst Haeckel]] in 1866, when he defined it as "the comprehensive science of the relationship of the organism to the environment." [http://books.google.com/books?id=aMjXCF4rmDUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=qjIyUKx2VnKAYDw2zTZA9n6hkuk#PPA72,M1 Guide to Standard Floras of the World] 0-521-79077-8 Haeckel did not elaborate on the concept, and the first significant textbook on the subject (together with the first university course) was written by the Danish botanist, [[Eugenius Warming]].  For this early work, Warming is often identified as the founder of ecology.(Goodland, R.J. 1975 The tropical origin of ecology: Eugen Warming’s jubilee. ''Oikos'' '''26''', 240-245).

The term ecology or ''oekologie'' was coined by the German biologist [[Ernst Haeckel]] in 1866, when he defined it as "the comprehensive science of the relationship of the organism to the environment." [http://books.google.com/books?id=aMjXCF4rmDUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=qjIyUKx2VnKAYDw2zTZA9n6hkuk#PPA72,M1 Guide to Standard Floras of the World] 0-521-79077-8 Haeckel did not elaborate on the concept, and the first significant textbook on the subject (together with the first university course) was written by the Danish botanist, [[Eugenius Warming]].  For this early work, Warming is often identified as the founder of ecology.(Goodland, R.J. 1975 The tropical origin of ecology: Eugen Warming’s jubilee. ''Oikos'' '''26''', 240-245).

 

==Scope==

==Scope==

Ecology is usually considered a branch of [[biology]], the general science that studies living [[organism]]s. Organisms can be studied at many different levels, from [[proteins]] and [[nucleic acid]]s (in [[biochemistry]] and [[molecular biology]]), to [[cells]] (in [[cellular biology]]), to individuals (in [[botany]], [[zoology]], and other similar disciplines), and finally at the level of [[population]]s, communities, and [[ecosystem]]s, to the [[biosphere]] as a whole; these latter strata are the primary subjects of ecological [[inquiry]].  Ecology is an interdisciplinary science. Because of its focus on the higher levels of the organization of life on earth and on the interrelations between organisms and their environment, ecology draws on many other branches of science, especially [[geology]], [[geography]], [[meteorology]], [[pedology (soil study)|pedology]], [[genetics]], [[chemistry]], and [[physics]]. Thus, ecology is considered by some to be a [[holistic]] science, one that over-arches older disciplines such as biology which in this view become sub-disciplines contributing to ecological [[knowledge]].  In support of viewing ecology as a subject in its own right as opposed to a sub-discipline of biology, [[Robert Ulanowicz]] stated that "''The emerging picture of ecosystem behavior does not resemble the [[worldview]] imparted by an extrapolation of conceptual trends established in other sciences.''(R. Ulanowicz, ''Ecology: The Ascendent Perspective'', Columbia 1997)

Ecology is usually considered a branch of [[biology]], the general science that studies living [[organism]]s. Organisms can be studied at many different levels, from [[proteins]] and [[nucleic acid]]s (in [[biochemistry]] and [[molecular biology]]), to [[cells]] (in [[cellular biology]]), to individuals (in [[botany]], [[zoology]], and other similar disciplines), and finally at the level of [[population]]s, communities, and [[ecosystem]]s, to the [[biosphere]] as a whole; these latter strata are the primary subjects of ecological [[inquiry]].  Ecology is an interdisciplinary science. Because of its focus on the higher levels of the organization of life on earth and on the interrelations between organisms and their environment, ecology draws on many other branches of science, especially [[geology]], [[geography]], [[meteorology]], [[pedology (soil study)|pedology]], [[genetics]], [[chemistry]], and [[physics]]. Thus, ecology is considered by some to be a [[holistic]] science, one that over-arches older disciplines such as biology which in this view become sub-disciplines contributing to ecological [[knowledge]].  In support of viewing ecology as a subject in its own right as opposed to a sub-discipline of biology, [[Robert Ulanowicz]] stated that "''The emerging picture of ecosystem behavior does not resemble the [[worldview]] imparted by an extrapolation of conceptual trends established in other sciences.''(R. Ulanowicz, ''Ecology: The Ascendent Perspective'', Columbia 1997)