Ecology is a science that studies the relationship of living organisms with each other and with their environment. The term was first used by E. Haeckel in 1866. Today, ecology is one of the most important sciences of nature, having
tremendous importance for the life of any modern person. Nevertheless, this discipline still causes a lot of controversy among scientists: the object of its study, its structure, the definition of the term "ecology" and many other questions are discussed. The general conclusion that can be drawn from the many existing points of view is the following: ecological can be called any research conducted to study the life of living organisms in their natural habitat, to establish links between them and determine their impact on the environment. We also note that it is wrong to say, for example, “bad natural ecology”, since ecology is a science and not a characteristic of the environment.
The object of study for ecology is large biological systems: populations, biocenoses, ecosystems. The subject of study is the development of these systems in time and space. Ecology is a science striving to solve many
various theoretical and practical problems, we will single out the most important of them. So, ecology is trying to establish patterns by which the resources necessary for life are effectively distributed between established biocenoses, and learn to manage these patterns under conditions of active human intervention in natural processes.
As noted above, ecology is a very controversial discipline, and its structure is also considered ambiguous: different scientists identify different areas of its study. Let us turn to the classification according to the levels of organization of living matter studied by ecology.
- Autoecology studies individuals, the body level. Investigates the limits of environmental conditions under which individuals can exist.
- Demecology studies the population level. Explores the conditions under which populations and relationships are formed in them.
- Eidecology studies species. At the moment, this is the least relevant area of ecology, since the interest of researchers is shifting from the population level to the biocenotic, bypassing the species level.
- Synecology studies the biocenotic level. Explores the formation, vital activity and dynamics of biocenoses.
- Global ecology studies the biosphere. Explores the problems of the latter.
On the basis of the basic directions of ecology, many new and more highly specialized ones are being formed. The latest departments of ecology are closely intertwined with other biological sciences, which leads to an increase in the effectiveness of research in all the areas involved.
Academician S. S. Schwartz said that ecology "is becoming the theoretical basis for the human behavior of an industrial society in nature." From this statement alone, one can judge the significance of the science we are describing. Today, ecology and nature management are studied at many universities in the Russian Federation.
