Environment and ecology the word environment

Last updated date: 12th Apr 2023

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Knowing Ecology vs Environment will become easier if we understand ecology meaning and environment meaning. Ecology is a study of the biosphere, whereas ecosystems are created by the interconnections between the living organisms and the physical environments they inhabit which can be water, land, or air. Ecosystems need a source of energy i.e. light from the sun enables them to be able to work.

What is Ecology?

Reiter used the word ‘Ecology’ in the year 1865 and Ernst Hackel explained it more profoundly in the year 1869. Ecology is the study of relationships between living organisms (plants, animals, bacteria, humans) and the environment. Its major components are individual or organisms, species, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere. All of the components are interrelated and can be determined on the basis of the composition and distribution of a variety of resources like heat, sunlight, nutrients and water.

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Ecology is divided into two main branches, (i) autecology, and (ii) synecology. 

  • Autecology deals with species or an organism, its adaptations, and its interaction with its environment. 

  • Synecology deals with the study of different species living in a community and their relation with the surrounding. Examples of aquatic ecology include freshwater, marine, etc. It is further classified into two branches, aquatic and terrestrial ecology. 

Aquatic ecology deals with aquatic ecosystems, whereas terrestrial ecology deals with terrestrial ecosystems. For example, desert, forest, grassland, and so on. System ecology, applied ecology, and genecology are the modern branches of ecology. 

What is the Environment?

Environment is the totality of the surroundings that we live in. It is the combination of physical and biological components such as animals, plants, air, water, sunlight; we can study the effect of all organisms and the effects of their way of living on the environment. Climate and weather changes take place due to different impacts on the environment and hence can alter the natural cycles.

As a result, if a healthy environment is disturbed, there can be disturbance in ecology too as disturbances in various ecosystems take place. Due to too hot/too cold or humid conditions, organisms may not survive and there can be decrease in the population, community or species. For example, when an uncontrollable wild forest fire, bush fire or grassland fire takes place, many living organisms including plants, animals and vegetation may die and result in the loss of an ecosystem. It ultimately affects the ecology. This is how we can portray the difference between environmental biology and ecology.

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Components of the Environment

There are two main components of the environment, biotic and abiotic. 

  • The biotic components of the environment are all organisms like human beings, animals, birds, reptiles, including the microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, algae, and so on. 

  • The abiotic components of the environment include land, river, air, soil, mountain, cloud, and physical components like humidity, temperature, and so on.

With the help of the below tabular chart, we will make you understand the ecology and environmental science differences.

Difference Between Environmental Biology and Ecology

Environment

Ecology

A broader field of Science incorporating many elements of life sciences and earth.

It is more focused on how organisms interact among each other and their surroundings; It is a specific population of living things.

It is the set of conditions that surround an organism.

Study of the interactions between organisms and the environment they live in.

Environmental factors include temperature, water, light, air, soil and nutrients.

Ecology involves the study of different ecosystems and how organisms survive by depending upon each other. 

Environment can be very large as well as very small. 

It is a wide spectrum that includes many smaller ecosystems.

In terms of ecology, all abiotic factors or non living environmental factors surrounding an organism come under Environment.

It covers a wider way of interactions including microscopic observations as well as up to the global scale. It includes how organisms are affected by the environment and how in turn, ecology affects it. 

Humans have a huge impact on many different ecosystems resulting in impact on the global environment.

Different levels of organization within ecology include Organismal ecology, Population Ecology, Community ecology, Ecosystem Ecology and Biosphere Ecology.

Either it is biotic or chemical components, the surrounding where living organisms live, it is called environment.

How living organisms sustain in their habitat, the study is called ecology. Eco means friendly, without harming any particular nature or substance.

The environmental factors include pollution, global warming, deforestation and other broader issues.

The ecological factors include population size, distribution of organisms, diversity and also the competition between them.

It aims to study the internal and external factors affecting the environment.

It aims to understand life processes, adaptation, distribution, and biodiversity.

Different Levels of Organisms within Ecology

1.Organism

When an individual living thing is capable of responding to stimuli, growing, reproducing and maintaining homeostasis. Example, a plant, animal or human.

2.Population

A population is the sum of all of the individuals of the same species living within an ecological community.

3.Community

Community ecology, also known as synecology, includes the study of the interactions between species in communities on many spatial and temporal scales. It also involves the distribution, abundance, structure, demography, and interactions between all coexisting populations.

4.Ecosystem

It consists of a large community of living organisms including plants, animals and microbes in a particular area. It can be of any size but exist in a particular place. The living and physical components of an ecosystem are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. 

Energy pyramids can be drawn to show the interdependence of organisms on one another and how energy flow takes place in any ecosystem. Variety of food chains or versatility of food chains in an ecosystem leads to its strong foundation. Environment pollution and deforestation are major problems for ecosystem sustenance.

5.Biosphere

It is one of the four layers surrounding the Earth along with other layers. The other layers are lithosphere (rocky area), hydrosphere (water bodies) and atmosphere (air) and it is the sum of all the ecosystems. 

Ecosystem

The ecosystem is termed as the structural and functional unit of ecology, where the living and nonliving components of the environment are in continuous interaction. The ecosystem is defined as the chain of interactions taking place between living organisms and the environment, which can be small or huge. In other words, itI can be an oasis in the desert or an ocean that covers thousands of miles.

The ecosystem is responsible for maintaining stability within the environment. It is either aquatic or terrestrial. Aquatic exists in the water, whereas terrestrial refers to the land-based ecosystems. Forest, desert, grassland, and tundra are different land-based ecosystems. All biotic and abiotic components are interconnected in an ecosystem. The ecosystem is always in the state of continuous evolution.

Important Points

  • Ecology is generally termed as studying the interactions and other properties of biological organisms and non-biological items in the environment. Contradictorily, an environment is termed as a surrounding containing living and nonliving things that coexist.

  • For the first time, Reiter invented the term ‘ecology’, and Ernst Haeckel defined the term. Ramdeo Misra is renowned as the ‘Father of Ecology’ in India.

  • The environment of an organism changes when it moves from one location to another, whereas an ecology does not change and stays the same for an organism no matter where it goes.

  • Ecology provides an interrelation between the elements, whereas an environment allows the elements to exist.

  • It is often believed that an environment and ecology are the same things. However, they differ in terms of functions, their habitat, and qualities, as well as other significant characteristics. Ecology and environment, both are major components that are observed in our surroundings. 

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Environment is everything that surrounds us, whereas ecology is how all those work. It refers to the study of the interaction of organisms with their environment. Ecology seeks to understand life processes, adaptation and biodiversity. On the other hand, the environment aims to identify the internal and external factors that affect the population.

Let us have an overview of the difference between environment and ecology.

Also Read: Environmental Issues

Following are the important difference between environment and ecology:

Environment Ecology
Environment refers to the interaction between the physical, chemical and biological components. Ecology is the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment.
The environmental issues include pollution, deforestation, global warming, and other broader issues. The ecological issues include population size, diversity, distribution of organisms, and competition between them.
Studies the internal and external factors affecting the environment. Aims to understand life processes, distribution, adaptation and biodiversity.

Ecology Meaning

The term “ecology” was coined by Ernst Haeckel. It is the study of the relationship between living organisms and their environment. Its main components include individuals, species, population, communities, and ecosystem. These components are determined based on the composition and distribution of resources such as sunlight, heat, water, nutrients, etc.

Environment Meaning

Environment refers to the surroundings we live in. It is a combination of physical and biological components. The environment determines the climate and weather, which are extremely important to all biological forms. Any changes in the environment can alter the natural cycles and climatic conditions.

Also Read: Types of Environment

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The environment is simply the surrounding in which we live, along with other living and non-living components. These components interact with each other and their surroundings in some form. The scientific study that deals with such relationships and interactions is called Ecology

What is Environment?

By definition, the environment is the integration of an interactive and functional relationship between biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components. The biotic components involve all life forms ranging from humans and animals to microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, algae etc. On the contrary, abiotic components comprise physical factors like land, river, air, cloud, oceans, deserts, temperature, etc. These two components, together with chemical interactions involving chemical cycles (nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle, etc.), provide the biological sense of the environment. These interactions structure the environment, which comprises biodiversity, habitat, and energy. Any change in this environmental composition can influence climatic and weather conditions, which is crucial for all biological forms. These disruptions may disturb the diversified ecosystems and healthy ecological settings. Therefore, all living entities’ natural life processes and physical requirements are significantly dependent on the environment. Not only natural disruptions but human activities also have a significant impact on the global environment. There are two different types of environments:

a) Geographical Environment
b) Man-made Environment

The study of the environment aims at providing solutions to reduce waste, and deforestation, eradicate pollution and safeguard coral reefs. 

What is Ecology?

Unlike the broader concept of science and life sciences covered under the term ‘environment’, ecology is majorly focused on how everything in the environment works. The ecological study takes into account the dependency of creatures on each other for survival. The term ecology was first used by Ernst Haeckel in 1869. Ecology is a greek word ‘oikos‘ meaning home or estate, and ‘logos‘ meaning study. Its main components are individuals or organisms, species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere. These components are determined based on various resource distributions and their compositions. Some such resources are sunlight, water, and nutrients. The ecological study can be subdivided into two parts:

a) Autoecology: relationship of one species of organism.
b) Synecology: ecological studies of communities or an entire ecosystem. 

It considers different habitats, human population interactions, and ecosystems and studies the physical features of all species, even including the small living entities such as nucleic acids and cells. This kind of investigation and analysis help promote human health and, at the same time, conserves natural resources.

Environment vs Ecology:

Environment and ecology are closely interrelated. The environment tends to maintain an ecological balance. Disturbance in one part of the environment tends to impact the area’s ecology. For example, the impact on a forest environment due to various factors, including flood, fire, and encroachment, affects the ecology of that particular forest area. Many animals and other living beings may not survive, and the population of a species or community will decrease, affecting the ecology. Contrarily, if an organism changes its habitat and hence, the environment, its ecology stays the same, no matter wherever it goes. Although the terms environment and ecology are major components that we observe in our surroundings and are often mistaken to be the same, they differ in terms of functions and qualities. In short, ecology defines a relationship between the elements that co-exist in the environment.

Environmental factors involve broader issues like global warming, pollution, and deforestation, whereas ecological factors consider the population distribution and diversity among organisms. While the environment is related to investigating internal and external influencing factors, ecology is more focused on understanding life processes, population distribution, and biodiversity. The environment can be both small and large. On the other hand, ecology is a wide spectrum encompassing a variety of smaller habitats. The study of the environment targets protecting both organisms and the environment from the adverse effects of human activities and climatic changes. At the same time, the study of ecology encompasses how ecosystems develop and how to lessen the damage caused by human activities.

Difference Between Environment and Ecology

       Environment 

           Ecology 

  1. The environment refers to the interaction of physical, chemical, and biological components.     
  2. The environment is the set of circumstances that surround a living thing, encompassing both large and small habitats.                             
  3. Environmental causes include pollution, global warming, deforestation, and other significant challenges.
  4. Environmental elements encompass temperature, water, light, air, soil, and nutrients.
  1. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their surroundings, and it focuses on the relationships between living beings.
  2. The goal of ecology is to investigate internal and external factors that impact the environment, including life processes, adaptations, distribution, and biodiversity.            
  3. Ecological factors include population size, organism dispersion, diversity, and competition.                             
  4. Ecology examines various ecosystems and how creatures rely on one another to thrive.

The
word environment means simply what is around us. Some people live
in a town environment; for others, their environment is the
countryside.

Nowadays
people understand how important it is to solve the environment
problems that endanger people’s lives. The most serious
environmental problems are: pollution in its many forms (water
pollution, air pollution, nuclear pollution), noise from cars,
buses, planes, etc., destruction of wildlife and countryside
beauty, shortage of natural resources (metals, different kinds of
fuel), the growth of population.

There
is no ocean or sea, which is not used as a dump. Many seas are
used for dumping industrial and nuclear waste. This poisons and
kills fish and sea animals. «Nuclear-poisoned» fish can
be eaten by people.

Many
rivers and lakes are poisoned too. Fish and reptiles can’t live
in them. There is not enough oxygen in the water. In such places
all the birds leave their habitats and many plants die. If people
drink this water they can die too. It happens so because
factories produce a lot of waste and pour it into rivers. So they
poison water.

Most
of the pollution in big cities comes from cars and buses. More
and more often people are told not to be in direct sunlight,
because ultraviolet radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer.
Normally the ozone layer in the atmosphere protects us from such
radiation, but if there are holes in the ozone layer ultraviolet
radiation can get to the earth. Many scientists think that these
holes are the result of air pollution.

Both
clean air and clean water are necessary for our health. If people
want to survive they must solve these problems quickly. Man is
beginning to understand that his environment is not just his own
town or country, but the whole earth. That’s why people all
over the world think and speak so much about ecology.

Окружающая
среда слова значит просто что вокруг
нас. Некоторые людей живут в окружающей
среде городка; для других, их окружающая
среда сельская местность. В наше время
люди понимают как важно они разрешить
проблемы окружающей среды которые
угрожают жизни людей. Самые серьезные
проблемы окружающей среды являются
следующими: загрязнение в своих много
форм (загрязнении воды, загрязнении
воздуха, ядерном загрязнении), шум от
автомобилей, шины, плоскости, etc.,
разрушение живой природы и красотка
сельской местности, недостаток природных
ресурсов (металлов, различных видов
топлива), рост населенности. Никакие
океан или море, который не использованы
как сброс. Много морей использованы для
сбрасывать промышленный и ядерный
отход. Это отравляет и убивает рыб и
животных моря. » Ядерно-poisoned» рыбы
могут быть съедены людьми. Много реки
и озер отравлены слишком. Рыбы и гады
не могут жить в их. Нет достаточного
кислорода в воде. В таких местах все
птицы покидают их среды обитания и много
заводов умирают. Если питье людей эта
вода они может умереть слишком. Оно
случается так потому что фабрики
производят много отход и льют его в
реки. Так они отравляют воду. Большое
часть из загрязнения в больших городах
приходит от автомобилей и шин. Больше
и больше часто сказаны, что находят люди
в сразу солнечном свете, потому что
ультрафиолетовое излучение от солнца
может причинить рак кожи. Нормально
озоновый слой в атмосфере защищает нас
от такой радиации, но если там, то
отверстия в ультрафиолетовом излучении
озонового слоя могут получить к земле.
Много научных работников думают что
эти отверстия результат загрязнения
воздуха. И чистый воздух и чистая вода
необходимы для нашего здоровья. Если
люди хотят выдержать, то они должны
разрешить эти проблемы быстро. Человек
начинает понимать что его окружающая
среда нет как раз его собственных городка
или страны, только вся земля. Это почему
люди во всем мире думают и говорят так
много о экологичности.

Окружающая
среда слова значит просто что вокруг
нас. Некоторые людей живут в окружающей
среде городка; для других, их окружающая
среда сельская местность. В наше время
люди понимают как важно они разрешить
проблемы окружающей среды которые
угрожают жизни людей. Самые серьезные
проблемы окружающей среды являются
следующими: загрязнение в своих много
форм (загрязнении воды, загрязнении
воздуха, ядерном загрязнении), шум от
автомобилей, шины, плоскости, etc.,
разрушение живой природы и красотка
сельской местности, недостаток природных
ресурсов (металлов, различных видов
топлива), рост населенности. Никакие
океан или море, который не использованы
как сброс. Много морей использованы для
сбрасывать промышленный и ядерный
отход. Это отравляет и убивает рыб и
животных моря. » Ядерно-poisoned» рыбы
могут быть съедены людьми. Много реки
и озер отравлены слишком. Рыбы и гады
не могут жить в их. Нет достаточного
кислорода в воде. В таких местах все
птицы покидают их среды обитания и много
заводов умирают. Если питье людей эта
вода они может умереть слишком. Оно
случается так потому что фабрики
производят много отход и льют его в
реки. Так они отравляют воду. Большое
часть из загрязнения в больших городах
приходит от автомобилей и шин. Больше
и больше часто сказаны, что находят люди
в сразу солнечном свете, потому что
ультрафиолетовое излучение от солнца
может причинить рак кожи. Нормально
озоновый слой в атмосфере защищает нас
от такой радиации, но если там, то
отверстия в ультрафиолетовом излучении
озонового слоя могут получить к земле.
Много научных работников думают что
эти отверстия результат загрязнения
воздуха. И чистый воздух и чистая вода
необходимы для нашего здоровья. Если
люди хотят выдержать, то они должны
разрешить эти проблемы быстро. Человек
начинает понимать что его окружающая
среда нет как раз его собственных городка
или страны, только вся земля. Это почему
люди во всем мире думают и говорят так
много о экологичности.

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Ecology vs Environment
 

Environment is everything around us including us while the ecology describes how all those work. Although environment linguistically sounds like a singular noun, it contains all the possible plurals in the universe; similarly, ecology is a singular noun that encounters all the possible relationships in the universe. It should be carefully studied as how these important terms differ from each other.

Ecology

The great scientist, Earnst Haeckel (1834 – 1919, Germany), coined the term Ecology (Ökologie) in 1869, which has been derived from Greek, as “oikoc” means home “logos” means study. For the presence of a home, an organism is essential; thus, ecology could be understood as the study of organisms and their natural home. In a home, the living beings mainly live upon the relationships with other living beings as well as with nonliving things. Similarly, ecology is the study of the relationships and other attributes of both biological organisms and abiotic entities in the environment. As an example, the interaction of two or more abiotic components such as a collision of two tectonic plates creates new environments, which cause serious changes among both biotic and abiotic components. After that, all the biotic, abiotic, and relationships among those will change. Therefore, it is highly important that how both biotic and abiotic components have been distributed with their compositions, amounts, and changing status.

Individuals, species, populations, communities, and ecosystems or biospheres, furthermore, are the components studied in ecology. Those ecological components are determined based on the composition, amounts, changing status, and distribution of resources such as nutrients, sunlight, heat, water, and other related matter. Oceanic and inland waters, solar energy, wind, and other climatic factors are directly involved with ecology. Ecosystems are created based on the resources and the biological entities adapt to the condition. The broad study of all those with basic attention to relationships is the ecology.

Environment

Since, environment is anything and everything, the reference of the term shall be restricted to the biophysical environment in this article. It is a combination of the physical environment with the biological forms. In simple terms, any environment that has the properties to sustain life could be a biophysical environment. For example, the richness in sunlight, atmosphere, and the presence of a substrate viz. soil or water would enable to sustain life in the particular environment. One of the most important features of the environment is that it determines the climate and weather, which are extremely important for the biological forms. Any serious change to the environment could alter the natural cycles, results in climatic shifts, or would change the abundance of all important food and energy for organisms. Since everything in the environment is interrelated, those changes are consequential. However, animals and plant have to adapt to the situation accordingly. Importantly, a change in the environment could cause to change the habitats of most of the animal and plant populations. The resourcefulness in any environment determines the availability for life forms to create their habitats, and the components in the environment limit the abundance and distribution.

What is the difference between Ecology and Environment?

• The basic difference between ecology and environment is that the environment is everything in the world while ecology is the study of those.

• The environmental components are described in terms of their relationships by ecology.

• An environment could exist without life, but ecology essentially deals with both biotic and abiotic entities.

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