ecology
[ih-kol-uh-jee]
- the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms.
- the set of relationships existing between organisms and their environment: desert ecologies.
- the set of relationships existing between any complex system and its surroundings or environment: the ecology and politics of healthcare.
- Also called human ecology. the branch of sociology concerned with the spacing and interdependence of people and institutions.
- advocacy for the protection of natural resources from pollution or its effects; environmentalism.
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Also Archaic, oe·col·o·gy.
Origin of ecology
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ecologic
Historical Examples
The economic and ecologic significance of insects in the diet of birds is often oversimplified.
Therefore, in its ecologic relationships with many other species, it is a density dependent predator.
Relative antiquity of the birds might be ascertained by measuring their ecologic adaptations.
The Avifauna of Micronesia, Volume 3Rollin H. Baker
The smaller the island, the fewer the number of ecologic niches and the fewer the kinds of birds present.
The Avifauna of Micronesia, Volume 3Rollin H. Baker
It feeds on the ground to a large extent, fitting into an ecologic niche which few other species of birds of the islands occupy.
The Avifauna of Micronesia, Volume 3Rollin H. Baker
ecology
- the study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment
- the set of relationships of a particular organism with its environment
- the study of the relationships between human groups and their physical environment
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Also called (for senses 1, 2): bionomics
Word Origin
C19: from German Ökologie, from Greek oikos house (hence, environment)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for ecologic
ecology
n.
1873, "branch of science dealing with the relationship of living things to their environments, coined by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) as Okologie, from Greek oikos "house, dwelling place, habitation" (see villa) + -logia "study of" (see -logy). In use with reference to anti-pollution activities from 1960s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
ecology
(ĭ-kŏl′ə-jē)- The branch of science that is concerned with the relationships between organisms and their environments.
- The relationship between organisms and their environments.
- The study of the detrimental effects of modern civilization on the environment, with a view toward their prevention or reversal through conservation.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
ecology
[ĭ-kŏl′ə-jē]
- The scientific study of the relationships between living things and their environments. Also called bionomics
- A system of such relationships within a particular environment.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ecology
The study of living things, their environment, and the relation between the two.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.