ecology

ecology, study of the relationships of organisms to their physical environment and to one another. The study of an individual organism or a single species is termed autecology; the study of groups of organisms is called synecology.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Climax Communities
• The Ecosystem
• The Food Web and Other Vital Cycles
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Environmental Studies