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I. SUBJECT OF ECOLOGY
Study of life
PRE-READING
Before reading the passage,answer the following questions and discuss them with your partner. Then read the passage and find the facts supporting your ideas.
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1. What is ecology?
2. What does ecology as a science deal with?
3. Who was the founder of ecology as a science?
4. Is it important to know the main problems of ecology and why?
TEXT
Task 1. Read, translate the text and do the exercises.
Ecology
Ecology is a sub-discipline of biology, or the study of life. Ecology is the division of scientific study focusing on organisms and their interactions with the environment. Ecology further researches and examines ecosystems and the network or relationships amongst all aspects of the environment. The term ecosystem refers to both the biological and physical elements within an environment. For example, physical components within an ecosystem consist of such elements as the soil and the land, while the biotic or living components include animals and plants. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary and are always changing. Ecology examines such disciplines as the distribution of organisms within a given environment as well as the diversity, quantities and varieties of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem. Further studies in ecology focus on the movement of materials and flow of energy within groups of living organisms. Ecosystems are always changing and through ecological studies scientists and researchers can map and understand such changes to help us understand the world we live in.
The subject matter of ecology is normally divided into four broad categories: physiological ecology, having to do with the response of single species to environmental conditions such as temperature or light; population ecology, usually focusing on the abundance and distribution of individual species and the factors that cause such distribution; community ecology, having to do with the number of species found at given location and their interactions; and ecosystems ecology, having to do with the structure and function of the entire suite of microbes, plants, and animals, and their abiotic environment, and how the parts interact to generate the whole. This branch of ecology often focuses on the energy and nutrient flows of ecosystems, and when this approach is combined with computer analysis and simulation we often call it systems ecology. Evolutionary ecology, which may operate at any of these levels but most commonly at the physiological or population level, is a rich and dynamic area of ecology focusing on attempting to understand how natural selection developed the structure and function of the organisms and ecosystems at any of these levels.
There are many practical reasons for studying the discipline of ecology. Knowledge gained from ecological studies can be useful in such areas as wetland and resource management, city planning or urban ecology, as well as human ecology or the understanding of humans and social interaction. Long-term ecological studies provide a conceptual framework for understanding ecosystems over periods of time and space. The components comprising ecological studies can be as small as singular cells and as large as rainforest growth and decline over the period of a decade. Ecology embraces the conceptual belief that the world we live in is a whole comprised of many various parts and levels all working, changing and interacting together. Ecological studies typically organize these components into three levels or categories: organisms, populations, and communities. Populations are created by the interactions of organisms and communities by the interactions of populations. These individual parts change in relation to each other as well as in relation to time and space.
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Levels of Organization of Ecology. (Credit: Erle Ellis)
The establishment of ecology as a field of biological science was first named in 1866 by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel. Haeckel coined the term ecology as referring
to the study of all the complex interactions that are caused by the conditions of the struggle of existence. Other forefathers of the field of ecology include Carl Linnaeus who inaugurated a study known as the economy of nature that influenced the later works of Charles Darwin and Alexander von Humbolt who established the modern ecological law of species in regards to relationships to area. The environmental movement of the 1960s further spurred popularity in ecological studies. Charles Darwin's work, The Origin of Species, was one of the first documentations that looked critically at the corresponding and complementary relationships between organisms, their adaptations and changes in the environment. Darwin's work and increasing research in the field of ecology forever changed the way that researchers considered the ecological world. Many researchers were investigating such ideas during corresponding periods around the world and research regarding the history of ecology and its origin are still active fields of study today.
The environment and the lives of mankind are undoubtedly linked. Through ecological processes our planet Earth is able to provide us with air to breathe and food to eat. One of the most important and crucial components of our immensely diverse physical ecosystem is water. Water sustains all forms of life, therefore the management of this invaluable resource is of the utmost importance. Various fields and researches with the science of ecology strive to find the most effective ways to utilize and respect this resource. Many contemporary ecological studies emphasize the need to guarantee the stability and soundness of our ecosystem through sustainable water resource management. Ecological studies assist in finding ways to ensure that human activity and human use of water resources does not negatively affect or compromise the sustainability of aquatic resources and ecosystems over the long-term. Through these studies, solutions to water resource management can be established and further implemented. Contemporary ecological studies give high priority to the study of water as a prominent aspect and factor affecting all ecosystems and environments. Humans, animals and plants need water to survive and ecology helps us to learn how to use this precious resource appropriately.
Ecology studies the direct and undeniable link between all living things, time and space. Fundamentally, everything on earth depends on something else and can be affected by even the slightest change in our ecosystem. The scientific field of ecology and ecological studies helps us to understand this intricate and complex network of relationships. The effects that human beings have on the planet earth are substantial and significant and it is therefore crucial that we understand them in order to preserve our ecosystem for future animal life, plant life as well as our own future generations to come.
(Retrieved from: http://www.rususa.com/science/articles.asp-tc-ecology)
Glossary
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Word study
Task 1. Read the words, mind the stress and pronunciation.
Biotic, physiology, discipline, temporary, analysis, generate, dynamic, conceptual, existence, establishment, species, investigate, diverse, emphasize, significant, crucial, sustainable, permanent.
