ECOLOGY

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment

Synonyms:

bionomics; ecology; environmental science

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("ecology" is a kind of...):

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Domain member category:

biotic community; community ((ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other)

association ((ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species)

food chain ((ecology) a community of organisms where each member is eaten in turn by another member)

food pyramid ((ecology) a hierarchy of food chains with the principal predator at the top; each level preys on the level below)

food cycle; food web ((ecology) a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains)

ecesis; establishment ((ecology) the process by which a plant or animal becomes established in a new habitat)

ecological succession; succession ((ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established)

ecological niche; niche ((ecology) the status of an organism within its environment and community (affecting its survival as a species))

cosmopolitan; widely distributed (growing or occurring in many parts of the world)

endemic (native to or confined to a certain region)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ecology"):

palaeoecology; paleoecology (the branch of ecology that studies ancient ecology)

Derivation:

ecologic; ecological (of or relating to the science of ecology)

ecologist (a biologist who studies the relation between organisms and their environment)

Domain member category:

eutrophic ((ecology) of a lake or other body of water rich in nutrients and subject to eutrophication)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The environment as it relates to living organisms

Example:

it changed the ecology of the island

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("ecology" is a kind of...):

environment (the totality of surrounding conditions)