Portal:Ecology

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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 - Biodegradable plastic utensils Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Some bioplastics are obtained by processing directly from natural biopolymers including polysaccharides (e.g., starch, cellulose, chitosan, and alginate) and proteins (e.g., soy protein, gluten, and gelatin), while others are chemically synthesised from sugar derivatives (e.g., lactic acid) and lipids (oils and fats) from either plants or animals, or biologically generated by fermentation of sugars or lipids. In contrast, common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics (also called petro-based polymers) are derived from petroleum or natural gas. One advantage of bioplastics is their independence from fossil fuel as a raw material, which is a finite and globally unevenly distributed resource linked to petroleum politics and environmental impacts. Life cycle analysis studies show that some bioplastics can be made with a lower carbon footprint than their fossil counterparts, for example when biomass is used as raw material and also for energy production. However, other bioplastics' processes are less efficient and result in a higher carbon footprint than fossil plastics. (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 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 Intraspecific competition 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 - Mimicry Credit: PLoS, Image Credit: (A, C, E, and F) by Rob Knell; (B and D) by Tom Ings Wasp mimicry - A and B show real wasps; the rest are mimics: three hoverflies and one beetle. Mimicry is part of the evolutionary process of adaptation. General images The following are images from various ecology-related articles on Wikipedia. Table visualising size-symmetric competition, using fish as consumers and crabs as resources. (from Community (ecology)) Spiny forest at Ifaty, Madagascar, featuring various Adansonia (baobab) species, Alluaudia procera (Madagascar ocotillo) and other vegetation (from Ecosystem) Dense mass of white crabs at a hydrothermal vent, with stalked barnacles on right (from Habitat) An Antarctic rock split apart to show endolithic lifeforms showing as a green layer a few millimeters thick (from Habitat) This coral reef in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area provides habitat for numerous marine species. (from Habitat) Rainforest ecosystems are rich in biodiversity. This is the Gambia River in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park. (from Ecosystem) A bear with a salmon. Interspecific interactions such as predation are a key aspect of community ecology. (from Community (ecology)) 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) 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) Rich rainforest habitat in Dominica (from Habitat) Flora of Baja California desert, Cataviña region, Mexico (from Ecosystem) 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) 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) Wetland habitat types in Borneo (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)) Sequence of a decomposing pig carcass over time (from Ecosystem) Desert scene in Egypt (from Habitat) Biological nitrogen cycling (from Ecosystem) Twenty-five years after the devastating eruption at Mount St. Helens, United States, pioneer species have moved in. (from Habitat) A generalised graph of a predator-prey population density cycle (from Community (ecology)) a) A trophic pyramid showing the different trophic levels in a community. b) A food web of the same community (from Community (ecology)) 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) The leaves of an Alnus nepalensis tree provide a microhabitat for species like the leaf beetle Aulacophora indica. (from Habitat) 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 timelapse composite panorama of different natural phenomena and environments around Mount Bromo, Indonesia. Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part of nature, human activity or humans as a whole are often described as at times at odds, or outright separate and even superior to nature. During the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries, nature became the passive reality, organized and moved by divine laws. With the Industrial revolution, nature increasingly became seen as the part of reality deprived from intentional intervention: it was hence considered as sacred by some traditions (Rousseau, American transcendentalism) or a mere decorum for divine providence or human history (Hegel, Marx). However, a vitalist vision of nature, closer to the pre-Socratic one, got reborn at the same time, especially after Charles Darwin. (Full article...) List of recognized articles Botany Climate Sustainability 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 List of invasive species in the Everglades Selected biography - Sergei Nikolaevich Winogradsky ForMemRS (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Виноградский; Ukrainian: Сергій Миколайович Виноградський; 13 September [O.S. 1 September] 1856, Kyiv – 24 February 1953, Brie-Comte-Robert), also published under the name Sergius Winogradsky, was a Ukrainian and Russian microbiologist, ecologist and soil scientist who pioneered the cycle-of-life concept. Winogradsky discovered the first known form of lithotrophy during his research with Beggiatoa in 1887. He reported that Beggiatoa oxidized hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as an energy source and formed intracellular sulfur droplets. This research provided the first example of lithotrophy, but not autotrophy. Born in the capital of present-day Ukraine, his legacy is also celebrated by this nation. His research on nitrifying bacteria would report the first known form of chemoautotrophy, showing how a lithotroph fixes carbon dioxide (CO2) to make organic compounds. (Full article...) List of selected biographies Ernst Haeckel Charles Darwin Eugenius Warming Aziz Ab'Sáber 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 Aparajita Datta 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 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? ... that scientist Adelaida K. Semesi was known as "mama mangroves" due to her specialist knowledge of their ecology? ... 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 Kühkopf-Knoblochsaue is a large Naturschutzgebiet in Hesse, Germany, protecting the ecology of the floodplains where the Rhine formerly meandered? Selected quote - “ And so when we talk about intangible values remember that they cannot be separated from the others. The conservation of waters, forests, soils, and wildlife are all involved with the conservation of the human spirit. The goal we all strive toward is happiness, contentment, the dignity of the individual, and the good life. This goal will elude us forever if we forget the importance of the intangibles. ” — Sigurd F. Olson 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