Portal:Ecology

Portal

Topics and categories

WikiProject

Ecology

Ecology (from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos) 'house', and -λογία (-logía) 'study of') is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely related sciences of biogeography, evolutionary biology, genetics, ethology, and natural history. Ecology is a branch of biology, and is the study of abundance, biomass, and distribution of organisms in the context of the environment. It encompasses life processes, interactions, and adaptations; movement of materials and energy through living communities; successional development of ecosystems; cooperation, competition, and predation within and between species; and patterns of biodiversity and its effect on ecosystem processes. Ecology has practical applications in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management (agroecology, agriculture, forestry, agroforestry, fisheries, mining, tourism), urban planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, basic and applied science, and human social interaction (human ecology). The word ecology (German: Ökologie) was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel. The science of ecology as we know it today began with a group of American botanists in the 1890s. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection are cornerstones of modern ecological theory. Ecosystems are dynamically interacting systems of organisms, the communities they make up, and the non-living (abiotic) components of their environment. Ecosystem processes, such as primary production, nutrient cycling, and niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and matter through an environment. Ecosystems have biophysical feedback mechanisms that moderate processes acting on living (biotic) and abiotic components of the planet. Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and provide ecosystem services like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value. (Full article...) Selected article - Male hartebeest locking horns and fiercely defending their territories. An example of direct competition. Intraspecific competition is an interaction in population ecology, whereby members of the same species compete for limited resources. This leads to a reduction in fitness for both individuals, but the more fit individual survives and is able to reproduce. By contrast, interspecific competition occurs when members of different species compete for a shared resource. Members of the same species have rather similar requirements for resources, whereas different species have a smaller contested resource overlap, resulting in intraspecific competition generally being a stronger force than interspecific competition. Individuals can compete for food, water, space, light, mates, or any other resource which is required for survival or reproduction. The resource must be limited for competition to occur; if every member of the species can obtain a sufficient amount of every resource then individuals do not compete and the population grows exponentially. Prolonged exponential growth is rare in nature because resources are finite and so not every individual in a population can survive, leading to intraspecific competition for the scarce resources. (Full article...) List of selected articles Ecosystem History of ecology Ecological economics River ecosystem Human ecology Forest ecology Wetland Natural environment Butanol fuel Old-growth forest Bioplastic Atmosphere of Earth Conservation biology Biofuel Aquatic ecosystem Landscape ecology Cleaner fish Biome Hydrology Biosphere Life Mycology Evolution Lotic ecosystem Coral reef Fire ecology Pollination Species reintroduction Theoretical ecology Spatial ecology Ecological fitting Ecology of California Biodiversity of Albania Storage effect Vacant niche Desert ecology Disturbance (ecology) Ecological facilitation Food web Plant ecology Intertidal ecology Nitrogen cycle Restoration ecology Ecological art Ecological resilience Ecology of the North Cascades Ecology of the Rocky Mountains Altitudinal zonation Ecology of the San Francisco Estuary Environmental issues with coral reefs Acclimatisation society Island restoration Interspecific competition Taylor's law World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions Blue carbon Ciénega Metabolic theory of ecology Ecosystem-based management The Green Planet (TV series) Selected image - Adaptation Credit: U.S. Navy Three polar bears approach the USS Honolulu (SSN-718), 280 miles from the North Pole. Polar bears have adapted through the process of evolution to have white fur that matches the white, icy arctic tundra. General images The following are images from various ecology-related articles on Wikipedia. Few creatures make the ice shelves of Antarctica their habitat, but water beneath the ice can provide habitat for multiple species. Animals such as penguins have adapted to live in very cold conditions. (from Habitat) a) A trophic pyramid showing the different trophic levels in a community. b) A food web of the same community (from Community (ecology)) Flora of Baja California desert, Cataviña region, Mexico (from Ecosystem) Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Ecosystem) Rainforest ecosystems are rich in biodiversity. This is the Gambia River in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park. (from Ecosystem) The High Peaks Wilderness Area in the 6,000,000-acre (2,400,000 ha) Adirondack Park is an example of a diverse ecosystem. (from Ecosystem) A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology. (from Community (ecology)) Biological nitrogen cycling (from Ecosystem) An Antarctic rock split apart to show endolithic lifeforms showing as a green layer a few millimeters thick (from Habitat) A freshwater lake in Gran Canaria, an island of the Canary Islands. Clear boundaries make lakes convenient to study using an ecosystem approach. (from Ecosystem) The leaves of an Alnus nepalensis tree provide a microhabitat for species like the leaf beetle Aulacophora indica. (from Habitat) Desert scene in Egypt (from Habitat) A generalised graph of a predator-prey population density cycle (from Community (ecology)) Dense mass of white crabs at a hydrothermal vent, with stalked barnacles on right (from Habitat) Wetland habitat types in Borneo (from Habitat) Twenty-five years after the devastating eruption at Mount St. Helens, United States, pioneer species have moved in. (from Habitat) Sequence of a decomposing pig carcass over time (from Ecosystem) Table visualising size-symmetric competition, using fish as consumers and crabs as resources. (from Community (ecology)) This coral reef in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area provides habitat for numerous marine species. (from Habitat) Rich rainforest habitat in Dominica (from Habitat) A simple trophic cascade diagram. On the right shows when wolves are absent, showing an increase in elks and reduction in vegetation growth. The left one shows when wolves are present and controlling the elk population. (from Community (ecology)) Loch Lomond in Scotland forms a relatively isolated ecosystem. The fish community of this lake has remained stable over a long period until a number of introductions in the 1970s restructured its food web. (from Ecosystem) A red-chested cuckoo chick being feed by a significantly smaller Cape robin-chat adult (from Community (ecology)) Ibex in an alpine habitat (from Habitat) Global oceanic and terrestrial phototroph abundance, from September 1997 to August 2000. As an estimate of autotroph biomass, it is only a rough indicator of primary production potential and not an actual estimate of it. (from Ecosystem) Related WikiProjects WikiProject Ecology WikiProject Environment WikiProject Ecoregions WikiProject Extinction WikiProject Biology WikiProject Protected areas WikiProject Forestry WikiProject Soil WikiProject Agriculture WikiProject Science Things you can do Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : Create any of the missing articles listed on the WikiProject Ecology page, Alkali bee (Pollinator decline), Ecosystem function (presently a redirect), Nutrient flow (Synecology), Seed crop (Pollinator decline) Verify : Agroecosystem, Biologist, Botany, Ecological pyramid, Ecological selection, Ecological succession, Ecotone, Functional ecology, Macroecology, Microbial ecology, Molecular biology, Uncontacted peoples Wikify : Add {{Portal|Ecology}} to the See also sections of ecology-related articles. Other : For additional tasks, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Ecology/to do  – When a task is completed, please remove it from the list. Recognized content - Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards. A tree island in the Everglades covered by Old World climbing fern. Invasive species in the Everglades are exotic plants and animals that are not native to the area and have aggressively adapted to conditions in wilderness areas in southern Florida. The Everglades are a massive watershed in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida that drains overflow from the vast shallow Lake Okeechobee that is in turn fed by the Kissimmee River. The overflow forms a very shallow river about 60 miles (100 km) wide and 100 miles (160 km) long that travels about half a mile per day. The network of ecosystems created by the Everglades are surrounded by urban areas to the east in the South Florida metropolitan area, to the west by Naples and Fort Myers, and to the south by Florida Bay, a marine environment that receives fresh water from and is maintained by the Everglades. As it is surrounded on three sides and close to a major transportation and shipping center, it is particularly vulnerable to the importation of exotic species. In the 20th century, Florida experienced a population surge unparalleled in the U.S., accompanied by rapid urban expansion made possible by draining portions of the Everglades. Flood control became a priority and the Central & South Florida Flood Control Project, from 1947 to 1971, constructed over 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of canals and flood control structures in South Florida. The widespread building created new habitats and disturbed established plant and animal communities. Many of the new residents or tourists in Florida were responsible for introducing plant species to the area by accident, or deliberately to improve landscaping. Many animals have been introduced similarly, and have either escaped or been released to proliferate on their own. Several terms are used to identify non-native species: exotic, invader, immigrant, colonist, introduced, nonindigenous, and naturalized. "Naturalized" usually refers to species that have adapted to a region over a long period of time, while "invasive" refers to particularly destructive or aggressive species. (Full article...) List of recognized articles Botany Climate Sustainability Nature Automimicry Apex predator Batesian mimicry Aposematism Aggressive mimicry Countershading Albany Pine Bush Ambush predator Camouflage Flagship species Disruptive coloration Habitat Host (biology) Invasive species Keystone species Mimicry Motion camouflage Müllerian mimicry Natural selection Underwater camouflage Predation Parasitoid Parasitism Geography and ecology of the Everglades Leopold Report Selected biography - Datta in 2006 Aparajita Datta (born 1970) is an Indian wildlife ecologist who works for the Nature Conservation Foundation. Her research in the dense tropical forests of Arunachal Pradesh has successfully focused on hornbills, saving them from poachers. In 2013, she was one of eight conservationists to receive the Whitley Award. She is also a Co-Chair of the IUCN Hornbill Specialist Group. (Full article...) List of selected biographies Ernst Haeckel Charles Darwin Eugenius Warming Aziz Ab'Sáber Sergei Winogradsky Leonty Ramensky Aldo Leopold Eugene Odum Rachel Carson Howard T. Odum William Skinner Cooper Pierre Dansereau Edward Smith Deevey Jr. John Burroughs Helena Norberg-Hodge Martin Gerzabek Exequiel Ezcurra Lian Pin Koh Ann Fowler Rhoads Ramon Margalef Charles Sutherland Elton Frances James (ecologist) John Stanley Beard Liz Chicaje C. S. Holling Marie-Josée Fortin Hanna Kokko Karl Möbius Elsie Quarterman Ian Stirling (biologist) Paul Sears Joan Roughgarden Christen C. Raunkiær Ed Ricketts Carl Linnaeus Lincoln Brower Did you know (auto-generated) ... that King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's "cli-fi" thrash metal album addresses a mix of current ecological threats and attempts to find another planet to live on? ... that ancient Roman gynecologists believed that menstrual blood could be used to drive dogs insane? ... that gynecologist Mary Lake Polan wrote a medical mystery novel to "demystify" the procedures behind in vitro fertilisation? ... that wampum artist Elizabeth James-Perry also works on ecological restoration projects, including the reintroduction of native plant life? ... that Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue is a large Naturschutzgebiet in Hesse, Germany, protecting the ecology of the floodplains where the Rhine formerly meandered? ... that the British political theorist Chris Armstrong has called for a "blue new deal" to secure ecological resilience for the ocean and a just blue economy? Selected quote - “ If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live. ” — Albert Einstein Ecology news From the Wikinews Environment portal April 23: European Union to reduce carbon emissions by 55% of 1990 levels by 2030 November 27: Wikinews interviews Craig Farquharson, Liberal Democrat candidate for 2020 Groom by-election November 27: Wikinews interviews Sandra Jephcott, Sustainable Australia candidate for 2020 Groom by-election December 14: Greta Thunberg named 2019 Time Person of the Year November 23: Researchers break down deaths due to power plant pollution in the United States November 21: Slippery business: Materials scientists invent new coating for self-cleaning, water-efficient toilets October 19: Northern Arapaho Tribe welcomes buffalo herd in Wyoming, United States October 12: Scientists describe how 'upside-down rivers' of warm water break Antarctica's ice shelf October 5: Voracious fish defend coral reefs against warming, say scientists September 8: Scientists report skyrocketing phytoplankton population in aftermath of Kīlauea eruption Additional News Highlights November 5, 2009: "New ocean forming in African desert." Selected publication - Conservation and Society is a peer-reviewed scientific and social science journal, which is published on a quarterly basis. It is interdisciplinary in scope. The editor in chief is Kamaljit Bawa (University of Massachusetts). The journal was established in 2003. Prior to 2005 the frequency of publication was semiannual. (Full article...) More selected publications Related portals More did you know - Related articles Associated Wikimedia The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject: Commons Free media repository Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals Wikidata Free knowledge base Wikinews Free-content news Wikiquote Collection of quotations Wikisource Free-content library Wikiversity Free learning tools Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus Web resources Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Ecology The Encyclopedia of Earth – Ecology The Nature Education Knowledge Project – Ecology National Geographic – Ecology Discover Wikipedia using portals List of all portals The arts portal Biography portal Current events portal Geography portal History portal Mathematics portal Science portal Society portal Technology portal Random portal WikiProject Portals