The science of ecology examines the inter-relationships between organisms and their environment. The physical environment includes all of the factors with which an organism interacts: solar radiation, transfer of energy, temperature, water, wind, soil, rock, and air. Thus, a mastery of the nature and action of environmental factors is essential to understanding how organisms respond to the environment.
For example, to understand how solar radiation penetrates through the atmosphere to the ground or into water, and how solar radiation is absorbed and re-emitted as heat by the terrestrial environment, requires understanding of physics. This is combined with knowledge of biology (e.g., genetics, physiology, growth and development) to understand the complex set of processes involved in how organisms respond to radiation. For example, a lizard, which is a poikilotherm or "cold blooded" organism, relies on the energy exchange between the lizard and its environment to regulate its body temperature.
Thus, an ecologist must master a variety of scientific disciplines in order to study and understand the physical environment and how organisms respond to the stress of various environmental factors.
What do you know . . .
Download & install
tbruntime
before running
Exploring Ecology
(*this only needs to done
once)
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... want to know more? |
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World
climate research |
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NOAA climate
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NOAA climate stations |
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Western
USA climate data |
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World climate
data |
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Idaho
climate data |
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International System of Units (SI) |
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The
Periodic Table of elements |
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Featured books and journals
An introduction to environmental biophysics. 1998. Campbell, G.S., and J.M. Norman. Spinger Verlag.
Biophysical ecology. 1980. Gates, D.M. Springer Verlag
Color and light in nature. 1995. Lynch, D.K., and W. Livingston. Cambridge University Press.
Ecological climatology: Concepts and applications. 2002. Bonan, G. B. Cambridge University Press.
Environmental physiology of animals. 2000. Willmer, P. Balckwell Science.
Fundamentals of biometeorology: Volume 1: The physical environment. Volume 2: The biological environment. 2002. Lowry, W.P., Lowry, P.P.
Fundamentals of biometeorology: Volume 2: The biological environment. 1989. Lowry, W.P., Lowry, P.P., and L. Milam. Peavine.
Microclimate: The biological environment. 1974. Rosenberg, N.J., B.L. blad, and S.B. Verma. John Wiley.
Plant ecophysiology. 2003. Larcher, W. Springer Verlag.
Ecological Society of
America
British Ecological Society
Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
International
Journal of Biometeorology