Meaning & use
ecology
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnicalbiology
The science that examines how organisms affect one another and are affected by air, water, soil, climate, and other surroundings.
Grammar: Use a singular verb and no plural when naming the subject: Ecology is..., not ecologies are.
Patterns
- study ecology
- work in ecology
- teach ecology
- research ecology
Nadia chose to study ecology because she wanted to understand wetlands, not just admire them.
His work in ecology tracks how bees respond to changing farmland and wildflowers.
The school invited an ecologist to explain how ecology connects forests, rivers, and cities.
nounusually singularbiology
The network of relationships among living things and their physical surroundings in a particular area.
Grammar: Often follows the ecology of somewhere and takes a singular verb: The ecology of the reef is fragile.
Patterns
- the ecology of somewhere
- change the ecology of something
- a fragile ecology
Invasive plants can disturb the ecology of a lake by crowding out native reeds.
The paper describes the delicate ecology of the alpine meadow in late spring.
Building roads through the forest changed the local ecology within a few seasons.
Common combinations
- study ecology
- After restoring a beach with her class, Lea decided to study ecology at college.
- marine ecology
- The unit on marine ecology explains why seagrass beds matter to coastal fishing towns.
- human ecology
- Human ecology examines how housing, transport, pollution, and health shape one another.
- the ecology of somewhere
- Bright lights at night can alter the ecology of a desert valley.
- restore the ecology
- Volunteers planted native willows to restore the ecology of the stream bank.
Synonyms and how they differ
- environmental science
- Broader than ecology: it often adds chemistry, policy, law, engineering, and human impact studies.
- natural history
- Focuses on observing and describing organisms and places; ecology more strongly tests relationships and change.
- conservation
- Names the protection and careful use of nature, not the scientific study of interactions itself.
Word family
- ecological adjective
- Relating to ecology; also can mean intended to reduce harm to nature.
- ecologically adverb
- In a way connected with ecology or low environmental harm.
- ecologist noun
- A scientist who studies relationships among organisms and their surroundings.
Commonly confused: ecology or environment? ecology or ecosystem?
ecology vs environment
Your environment is everything around you; ecology is the study of living relationships in that environment.
ecology vs ecosystem
An ecosystem is one community plus its nonliving setting; ecology is the wider study that includes many ecosystems.
Practice
Which sentence best uses ecology for the university subject?
Choose one answer.
For naming an academic field, ecology is uncountable with no article: study ecology. The ecology can be grammatical only with a specific place or system, such as the ecology of the marsh, so option B is tempting but incomplete here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “ecology”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.