ecology

plural ecologies · alternative archaic oecology · alternative archaic œcology

1. countableuncountablebiologyThe branch of biology dealing with the relationships of organisms with their environment and with each other.

   As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.

   2012 January 28, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 03 Oct 2013, page 31

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   As a graduate student, he was working on a thesis: The Ecology of the Black Creek Area. He had to investigate the relationships, past and present, of men and plants and animals in this region.

   1949, George R. Stewart, Earth Abides

2. broadlycountableuncountableAny study of the relationships of components of a system with their environment and with each other.

   social ecology

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   linguistic ecology

3. countableuncountableThe totality or pattern of relationships of components of a system with their environment and with each other.