Introduction

Ecology - the science of relations that support sustainability of life in the environment. She studied many sciences, emerging together in the differentiated and multi-system biology. The accumulation of information about the way of life, depending on the environment, the distribution of plants and animals started long ago. The first attempts at a synthesis of the information we find in the works of ancient philosophers. Aristotle (384-322 BC. Oe.) Described over 500 species of animals known to him and told him about their behavior: the migration, hibernation, construction activity, methods of self-defense, etc. The student of Aristotle, the "father of botany" Theophrastus Ereziysky ( 371-280 BC. Oe.) gave information about the dependence of the shape and growth of plants from different conditions of soil and climate.

The term "ecology" has introduced the famous German zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), who in his writings, "General Morphology of Organisms" (1866) and "Natural History of creation of the world" (1868) first attempted to define the essence of the new science. The word "ecology" comes from the Greek word oikos, meaning "home", "seat", "safe haven." Ernst Haeckel defined ecology as "the science of the general relations of organisms to the environment, which we include in the broad sense, all the conditions of existence. They are partly organic, partly inorganic nature, but both it and the others ... are very important for the forms of organisms, since forced to adapt to her. " With Ernst Haeckel, ecology is a science of the "home life of" living organisms, it is designed to explore "all the intricate relationships that Darwin conventionally termed the" struggle for existence. " Among the other names of the new science in the XIX century. commonly used name "economy of nature." This term emphasizes the problem of the natural balance, the "balance of Species", which is now one of the most important environmental issues. . In 1877, German hydrobiologist K. Möbius (1825-1908) was put forward the concept of biocenosis. Based on a study of the North Sea oyster cans he founded knowledge of biocenosis as deep natural combination of organisms in certain environments.

Evolution of Definitions of Ecology

Ecology = from the Greek root OIKOS, “at home”, and OLOGY, “the study of”

Haeckle (1870): “By ecology we mean the body of knowledge concerning the economy of Nature -theinvestigation of the total relations of the animal to its inorganic and organic environment.”

Burdon-Sanderson (1890s): Elevated Ecology to one of the three natural divisions of Biology: Physiology Morphology -Ecology

Elton (1927): “Scientific natural history”

Andrewartha (1961): “The scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms”

Odum (1963): “The structure and function of Nature

In the 20 years began to take shape a new field of environmental science - population ecology. The origins of this trend - in demographics, descriptions of population growth (Populus-people). Attention to the problem of increasing the number of people caught in the end of XVIII century. English pastor Malthus, who pointed to the geometric nature of this growth. In 1935, an English botanist A. Tansley advanced the concept ecosystem, and in 1942 Sukachev based views of biogeocenosis.

Currently, ecology is a complex system of sciences. Its central core is the general ecology with four major divisions, study the relevant links at different levels of organization of life:

autekologiya or ecology of organisms,

population ecology, and biocenology

ecosystem ecology. Population and environment biocenotic often combined under the title "sinekologiya" as their common goal - the study of organisms living together (Greek syn - together). There is a large private field of ecology, the study of the specifics of the relationship with the environment in different groups of organisms (ecology of plants, animals, fungi, microorganisms, and a fractional - birds, insects, fish, etc.). Due to the development of ecological ideas have identified a number of new sections in other biological sciences and environmental sciences, new content. Physiological ecology reveals patterns of physiological changes that underlie the adaptation of organisms. In biochemical ecology focus is on the molecular mechanisms of adaptive responses of organisms in the environment changes. Paleoecology study ecological relationships of extinct organisms and ancient communities, evolutionary ecology - the ecological mechanisms of reorganization of populations, the morphological structure of the environment, laws and structures of organisms, depending on the environmental conditions, geobotany - especially the addition and distribution of plant communities. Environmental science is and Hydrobiology, at different levels of studying the ecosystem of water bodies. Environmental topics have appeared in the earth sciences (eg, landscape ecology, global ecology, geo-ecology, etc.), and of the social sciences (eg social environment).

Sections of ecology

1. General Ecology

2. Special Ecology

(Includes sections of biological ecology)

3. Аpplied Ecology

4. Global Ecology