Table of Contents
Definition of Ecology
(noun) The study of organisms (i.e., animals, humans, and plants) and their interactions with each other and their natural environment.
Example of Ecology
- Urban ecology, which uses the principles of ecology to study urban (city) environments, such as how socioeconomic factors affect where people live and their health.
Etymology of Ecology
- Term typically credited to Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (1834–1919) in Generelle Morphologie der Organismen (1866).
Ecology Pronunciation
Syllabification: e·col·o·gy
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /i-kAHl-uh-jee/
- British English – /i-kOl-uh-jee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /iˈkɑləʤi/
- British English – /ɪˈkɒləʤi/
Usage Notes
- Plural: ecologies
- An (noun) ecologist studies (adjective) ecologic or (adjective) ecological topics (adverb) ecologically.
Additional Information
- Ecological and Environmental Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Food and Agriculture Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “ecology” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- agriculture
- cultural ecology
- cultural environment
- horticulture
- hunting and gathering
- industrialism
- pastoralism
- physical environment
- slash and burn
- subsistence strategy
Works Consulted
Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Ravelli, Bruce, and Michelle Webber. 2016. Exploring Sociology: A Canadian Perspective. 3rd ed. Toronto: Pearson.
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
Turner, Bryan S., ed. 2006. The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Ecology
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “ecology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved February 9, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/ecology/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
ecology. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/ecology/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “ecology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed February 9, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/ecology/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“ecology.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 9 Feb. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/ecology/>.