Ecology is the study of the relationship of organisms i.e . plants, animals and microorganism with their surrounding (environment).
Hans Reiter (1868) gave concept of ecology. The term Ecology is derived from words ‘oikos’ meaning home and ‘logos’ meaning study.
The term was coined in1869 by German biologist Ernst haeckel.
According to him Ecology is a branch of science which deals with the study of interrelationship between living organisms and their surroundings .
Scientifically Ecology has been defined as study of inter relationship of organisms with their surroundings. Various other definitions have been given by different scientists.
Woodbury (1954) defined Ecology as science that investigate organisms in relation to their environment. E.P. Odum (1969) defined Ecology as the study of structure and function of nature.
History of Ecology
The greek scholar , Theophrastus (370 250 BC) was the first person to introduced a scientific /ecological approach to the world. He described the relationship between organisms and the environment in scientific terms .
In the 18th century , European naturalist French Gorges buffon (1707 — 1788) introduced the concept of ecology by describing the relationship of animals to their environment in his book on Natural History.
Plant geographers such as Carl Ludwing wilde now ( 1765- 1812) pointed the role of environment/ surroundings in the development of vegetation.
A Swedish naturalist , Carl Linnaeus (1707- 1778) laid the grounds of modern Ecology around 250 years ago.
A German Exoplorer ‚Alexander Von Humboldt (1769 — 1859) studied relationship of vegetation and environment during his travels to various parts of the world. He compiled his findings in his book voyage aux regions equnoxalis.
He described vegetation zones based on latitude and altitude . He correlated vegetation with environmental characteristics and coined the term ‘plant association’
Charles Darwin (1809- 1882) gave the theory of Natural selection in his book origin od species. He compared the similarities and dissimilarities between species found in different regions . He attributed differences in the species to geological barriers.
The theory was based on the concept of competition between species . Herbert spencer (1820 — 1903)was considered as the founder of social Ecology gave the concept of survival of the fittest.
In Indian scenario , ancient /Classical epics and holy books such as Ramayan , Mahabharata, Vedas , Samhitas, Brahmanas and Araanyakas upanishads provide a mention of basic ecological concepts
The Charak samhita and Sushruta Sanhita ancient Indian texts on medicine and surgery mentioned the role of plants in treating human aliments
The basic concepts of ecology of ecology in India began with the study of forest vegetation by forest officers.
The first Comprehensive account was given by professor Dudgeon from University of Allah bad.
Extensive gynecological studies were carried out on grasslands and forest communities in India.
professor R. Mishra (1944 ‚1945) studied Ecology of aquatic plants and has been referred as Father of Indian Ecology , gane methods of soil analysis, established society for Tropical Ecology in 1958 amd School of Ecology at Banaras Hindu University in 1960.
Subdivision Of Ecology
Ecology has been divided into two types:
Autecology: It is the study of individual species in relation to their environment. It includes the study of geographical distribution , taxanomic position morphological characters , reproduction , life cycle and behaviour of species with reference to ecological factors or environment.
Synecology : It is the study of a population or community in relation to their environment . it comprises of community and Ecosystem Ecology . The composition and behavior of communities and their relationship to the environment are studied.
It has been broadly classified into two types of depending upon the study of habitat.
- Aquatic Ecology
- Terrestrial Ecology