Ecology

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Welcome to the Knowledge Project.

The Knowledge Project is an archive of hundreds of articles across a wide range of topics, from basic ecology to evolution. Articles were created through a "Knowledge wiki", a collaboration of scientists and educators, altogether independent of Nature Education Editors. The Knowledge Project was begun as an experimental publishing system for distributing content by the scientific community, in an effort to share knowledge that supports teaching and learning. The Knowledge Project is no longer active, but articles are archived here for educational and non-commercial use.

This page represents the Ecology Topic Room, which contains nine subtopics. This Topic Room is broadly defined, to include both ecosystems and conservation, as well as population ecology and teaching resources. Please see the left rail for other Subjects in the Knowledge Project.

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Evolution

To fully understand ecology, you must first be able to grasp the underlying concepts of evolution, genetics, and biodiversity. Articles in this room introduce you to these underlying concepts. Also included are articles on using molecular techniques to study ecology.

Population Ecology

A population is a group of individuals of a single species that live in a particular area and interact with one another. Many of the central issues in ecology concern questions about how and why the locations and abundances of populations change over time.

Conservation and Restoration

Restoration ecology is the scientific study of repairing disturbed ecosystems through human intervention. Whereas conservation biology is often focused on assessing and preventing ongoing degradation, restoration ecology seeks to actively reverse such degradation.

Ecosystem Ecology

Ecosystem ecology is the study of questions about the living and nonliving components within the environment, how these factors interact with each other, and how both natural and human-induced changes affect how they function. The biosphere is the ultimate determinant of where organisms can live, grow, and reproduce. The biosphere includes climate, which consists of long-term trends in temperature and precipitation and soils.

Community Ecology

Ecological communities are associations of species that co-occur in the same location and at the same time. Communities can cover large or small areas, and they can differ greatly in terms of the numbers and types of species found within them. Community ecology is a field that examines the effects of living and non-living features on the structure of a community.

Animal Behavior

Animal behavior is a rapidly growing and advancing area of study. Articles in this room introduce you what we know about why animals behave the way they do.

Physiological Ecology

Physiological ecologists study how an organism's physiology meets the challenges posed by its environment. Articles in this room introduces you to these challenges that include how organisms maximally adapt to varying temperatures and are able to obtain the energy, nutrients and water that they need to live, grow, and reproduce.

Global and Regional Ecology

Global and regional ecology considers the application of the science of ecology to the management of natural resources. Articles in this room introduce these emerging fields.

Teach Ecology

Articles in this room serve as resources for faculty interested in new ways to reach their students, or who want to learn more about teaching and learning.