Ecological Principles

Ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between organisms and their environment. These relationships are complex, varied and hierarchical. The word ‘ecology’ was first used by German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1869. The word is derived from the Greek words, oikos (meaning ‘house’ or ‘dwelling place’) and logos (meaning the study of). Ecologists defined ecology as ‘the study of the natural environment including the relations of organisms to one another and to their surroundings’. Ecology describes the relationships between living organisms and their environments. The community interaction of organisms with each other. The environment includes everything (biotic as well as abiotic factors) that surrounds an organism. Thus, it is science that attempts to answer how nature works and the life sustaining process on the earth. Modern ecology became a much more rigorous science in the late 19th century. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection became the lead area of study. In its early stage, the field was dominated as botanist and zoologist. Today, the topic of interest, in this science include the biodiversity, distribution, biomass and population of organism, primary production, nutrient cycle, niche construction, regulate the flux of energy and matter through environment as well as cooperation and competition within and between species. For instance, climatic conditions depends on the interactions among living organisms like human beings and their nonliving atmosphere, all of which regulate each other constantly.