Ecologists study the abiotic, or non-living factors in an environment to determine their influence on organisms. Several tools aid ecologists in measuring abiotic factors, including thermometers, altimeters, pH meters and many other devices.

The Role of Ecology in Our Lives The many specialties within ecology, such as marine, vegetation, and statistical ecology, provide us with information to better understand the world around us. This information also can help us improve our environment, manage our natural resources, and protect human health.

Ecological Research Methods: Observing, Experimenting & Modeling. Ecology is the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment on earth. Several ecological methods are used to study this relationship, including experimenting and modeling.

Conceptual models allow ecologists to see the “big picture” of how different components of the ecosystem interact with each other, energy sources, and resources. However, this approach is more descriptive than quantitative, so it is difficult to make conclusions about the resistance or resilience of a system.

The World Ocean

Experiments. Field data is a great first step to understanding an ecosystem, but there are always questions that can’t be answered with the field surveys. In these cases, ecologists will employ manipulative experiments with a control treatment to test hypotheses about the way an ecosystem works.

Ecology is the branch of science that examines the relationships organisms have to each other and to their environment. Scientists who study those relationships are called ecologists. There are many different ways to study ecology. Some types are landscape ecology, population ecology, and behavioral ecology.

A scientific theory stands until proven wrong — it is never proven correct. The Darwinian theory of evolution has withstood the test of time and thousands of scientific experiments; nothing has disproved it since Darwin first proposed it more than 150 years ago.