Ecology in the scientific community is called the science that deals with the relationship of all living beings both with each other and with the environment (including its inorganic form), as well as between superorganismal systems and the order of their functioning.
Ecology as a science has developed not so long ago its beginning is associated with the middle of the last century with the moment when information has already accumulated enough about the diversity of the world on the planet and about the features of the life of living organisms.
First of all, the existence of this science is due to the fact that not only the structure of such organisms is subject to strict patterns the question of their relationship with the environment is also associated with the existence of certain patterns, and they deserve serious study.
History of ecology as a science
The very name and term “ecology” is usually associated with the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel and his scientific works published in 1863-1866, in which he first ventured to define the essence of a new direction in science. The concept of “ecology” comes from the Greek word “dwelling”, and it was Haeckel who first defined ecology as a science that studies the relationship of living organisms to the surrounding world, where it is customary to include all conditions of existence in the broadest sense. Moreover, such conditions can be both organic and places of inorganic nature, and the most important of their properties is the ability to influence the forms of organisms, forcing them simply to adapt and change.
Ernst Haeckel
In accordance with Haeckel’s research, ecology is nothing more than the science of the daily life of living organisms: all its sections are aimed at a detailed study of those connections that were conditionally outlined by Darwin as a struggle for existence.
In the 19th century, another, alternative name for this science was quite often used the economy of nature but this concept studied more and highlighted the issue of natural balance in nature, so to speak, the balance of species. This problem is still one of the key points in the study of ecology today.
History of the development of ecology
Ecology, like any other science, has a rather significant background. The separation of ecology into a separate science is associated with the natural period of development of scientific information about the world around us. Having taken its place in the system of natural sciences, this area is still actively and successfully developing, expanding not only its functionality and methodology, but also its tasks. The modern version of this science can be safely called the theoretical basis for the rational use of natural resources, and it is ecology that plays the leading fiddle in the process of forming a strategy that denotes the relationship between the environment and human society.
The collection of information about the way of life, as well as its direct dependence on various external conditions, the nature and order of division of both the plant and animal world, developed more than one century ago.
The earliest attempts to collect such information can be found in the works of ancient philosophers: the same Aristotle gave a description of almost five hundred species of animals with a description of their behavior (migration of birds, hibernation of fish, etc.). Theophrastus of Eresia, a student of this famous philosopher, who is usually referred to as the “father of botany”, collected a variety of information about the uniqueness of the plant world in a variety of conditions and their dependence on soil and other factors (climatic, for example).
If we talk about the Middle Ages, then at this time attention to the study of the world around us significantly loses its relevance at that time theology and dogmatism dominate.
The discoveries made during the Renaissance and directly related to the discovery of new countries and places became a powerful impetus that led to the development of taxonomy. It was then that the description of flora and fauna appeared, the systematization of their structure (both external and internal) these moments became the main meaning of biological ecology at the very first stages of its formation as a science. The first studies on taxonomy reported on the dependence of flora on external conditions, and separately studied data on the habits and life of animals (with a mandatory description of their structure), which were called the history of animals.
Interestingly, until the 17th century, all ecological data was usually a significant part of the works that were associated with individual classes of organisms (insects, bryozoans), or in general with travel notes.
So, in the 18th century, a significant number of works on travel in Eurasia (Krasheninnikov, Pallas) were published, which emphasized the connection of climate and environmental changes in various parts of the country. So, almost 200 species of fauna and almost 500 species of birds were described, including such familiar phenomena as migration, hibernation and the like.
The French natural scientist Georges Buffon studied the effects of external factors on the structure of living organisms, and also emphasized the possibility of “rebirth” of various types and species of animals, considering in this matter the fundamental effects of external circumstances.
If we talk about today’s reality, then the ecology has turned into a fairly developed system of many sciences. Such a system includes several types:
We can safely talk about the development of such a direction as biochemical ecology, aimed at a close study of the molecular apparatus of instrumental changes in organisms, which are the result of changes in the surrounding space.
History of environmental problems
It is customary to call environmental problems provisions that have served to disrupt the balance of the surrounding space.
Such problems are usually divided into several types:
After these issues were identified (in the middle of the last century), the formulation of problems related to the protection of nature from the influence of dangerous factors was provided, with the parallel development of such concepts as ecological culture and education which, in turn, ensure the formation of ecological consciousness.
So, the very first damage in the environmental sphere was noted back in the 18th century then it was about expanding the territories of the colonies due to deforestation. And with the beginning of the 19th century and the industrial revolution associated with it, a huge number of pressing issues arise due to human impact on the natural environment.
Based on the opinion of the famous philosopher A.H.Pavlenko, it can be argued that the essence of environmental problems lies, first of all, in the conflict between the natural nature of mankind and the natural environment. And the consequence of such a problem is precisely the complete absence of such issues in environmentally friendly times (antiquity, for example), if we compare it with new European humanism.
History of human ecology
Human ecology, or, more simply, anthropoecology in science, is an interdisciplinary trend that can be attributed to the direction of social ecology, which is a complex installation designed to carefully consider the interaction of mankind with the outside world, as well as the moments of population formation, including issues of human health its formation, development and improvement.
One of the main tasks of anthropoecology were those that were formulated at the All-Union Conference at the end of the 20th century and later, at the All-Union School-Seminar, and, first of all, research was attributed to them:
All points that are directly related to anthropoecology are primarily related to health issues. Not least important is the concept of labor or professional health, which is a significant economic value along with other economic concepts, and health itself is recognized as an indispensable condition for a serious labor potential.
The history of human ecology is quite fragmented and its formation has a direct impact on many other disciplines, and, first of all, on geography, sociology, zoology and many others. Moreover, some of the researchers argue that it is geography that can be called human ecology.
And some time ago, interdisciplinary research was aimed at the formation of a scientific field that would link human and natural systems, which would be based on the research already done, but which would go beyond its borders.
And all other branches directly related to the historical development of anthropoecology include cultural ecology, environmental ecology, anthropological ecology, and much more.
History of hygiene and ecology
Ecology is a habitual place of residence for a person, characterized by interaction with a variety of environmental factors from the microclimate to food and air it is with them that interaction takes place, including the struggle for survival. While hygiene is an instrument that studies the effect of living conditions on health, human life expectancy and developing on the basis of these data recommendations to reduce the risks of the influence of the environment on them.
At their core, both hygiene and ecology have moments of theoretical sciences the same physics or chemistry, not to mention biology or geography. Hygiene also includes several scientific disciplines, divided into communal, military, occupational health, children, and so on.
History of social ecology
Social ecology is inherently one of the young scientific fields. Its emergence and progress is associated with the natural development of the interest of various humanitarian disciplines (from sociology to psychology) to the issues of interaction between humanity and the natural environment. This term appeared thanks to social psychologists researchers who applied it to work on the theory of population behavior. And this concept was used by Park and Burges to emphasize the social nature of phenomena, which, however, also have biological characteristics this is how social ecology arose.
