here was a time many years ago when observ ing nature was an activity A best left to farmers and poets I To protect their livelihoods the former needed to keep an eye on weather events and the cycle of the seasons not to mention the nearby wildlife that might make a meal out of their livestock The latter was concerned mainly with the aesthetics or surface beauty of the natural world Then in 1869 a German scientist named Ernst Haeckel gave a name that lent credence to such watch fulness and musings Thus the science of ecology was born Studying the interaction among living things and their environments is what ecology is all about To do so requires a join ing together of several branches of science Biology climatology geology and zoology all have their place in the ecological realm Each branch offers vital information on
INTRODUCTION Various denizens of Namibia s Etosha National Park gather at a watering hole Such species interaction and adaptability within a given environment is the crux of ecology Shutterstock com
Economy THE DELICA BALANCE OF LIFE ON EART one or more elements that coexist in various habitats Every inhabitant must be accounted for because each has a role to play The sub title of this book is right on target Life on Earth is a balancing act one so delicate that any disruption to even the smallest living or nonliving element can have a ripple effect upsetting the balance in several areas As shown in these pages ecologists use applied methodology and experimentation to exam ine activity within the various types of life groups Doing so allows them to figure out if everything is running smoothly and identify where trouble spots might occur How ecologists study the environment also requires a multipronged approach For scientific purposes the Earth is divided into several life sustaining layers The largest is the biosphere which is the thin life supporting stratum of Earth's surface The biosphere can be broken down into major life ones called biomes But in order to fully understand how plants and creatures interact with one another ecologists break things down even further The majority of ecologists focus their studies on a smaller scale at the population community and ecosystem
INTRODUCTION At the population level ecologists study interactions within one particular species They can gauge the balance of various pop ulations by observing the size density and distribution of each Communities provide details of how two or more species interact and what effect this has on the community as a whole The examination of ecosystems shows how species of plants and animals interact with their physical surroundings The flow of energy and nutrient cycling are the two most important factors at this level A lot has changed since Haeckel first coined the term ecology As threats such as pollution species extinction and global warming have cast their long shadows over the planet the ecological sciences have grown in importance becoming a linchpin in international efforts to maintain and restore the environment to its natural state Most likely ecology will be providing clues to the stability of the natural world for some time to come After all the life of every organism on Earth may very well hang in the
