Ecology (disciplines)

Ecology is a broad biological science and can be divided into many sub-disciplines using various criteria. Many of these fields overlap, complement and inform each other, and few of these disciplines exist in isolation. For example, the population ecology of an organism is a consequence of its behavioral ecology and intimately tied to its community ecology. Methods from molecular ecology might inform the study of the population, and all kinds of data are modeled and analyzed using quantitative ecology techniques. Ecology is a broad biological science and can be divided into many sub-disciplines using various criteria. Many of these fields overlap, complement and inform each other, and few of these disciplines exist in isolation. For example, the population ecology of an organism is a consequence of its behavioral ecology and intimately tied to its community ecology. Methods from molecular ecology might inform the study of the population, and all kinds of data are modeled and analyzed using quantitative ecology techniques. When discussing the study of a single species, a distinction is usually made between its biology and its ecology. For example, 'polar bear biology' might include the study of the polar bear's physiology, morphology, pathology and ontogeny, whereas 'polar bear ecology' would include a study of its prey species, its population and metapopulation status, distribution, dependence on environmental conditions, etc. In that sense, there can be as many subdisciplines of ecology as there are species to study. Ecology can also be classified on the basis of: