Ecology is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment; it seeks to understand the vital connections between plants and animals and the world around them. Ecology also provides information about the benefits of ecosystems and how we can use Earth’s resources in ways that leave the environment healthy for future generations.

Ecologists study these relationships among organisms and habitats of many different sizes, ranging from the study of microscopic bacteria growing in a fish tank, to the complex interactions between the thousands of plant, animal, and other communities found in a desert. Ecologists also study many kinds of environments. For example, ecologists may study microbes living in the soil under your feet or animals and plants in a rain forest or the ocean.

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. The following examples illustrate just a few of the ways that ecological knowledge has positively influenced our lives.

Non-Native or Introduced Species Invasions
Some non-native species (plants, animals, microbes, and fungi not originally from a given area) threaten our forests, croplands, lakes, and other ecosystems. Introduced species, such as the kudzu vine shown here, do this by competing with plants and animals that were originally there, often damaging the environment in the process. For example, the gypsy moth, a native of Europe and Asia, wreaks havoc on great swaths of forest lands by defoliating, or eating the leaves off of trees. At first, highly toxic chemicals, which also poisoned other animals, were the only methods available to control this introduced pest. By targeting vulnerable stages in the moths’ life cycle, ecologists devised less toxic approaches to control their numbers.

Natural Services
Ecologists have discovered that marshes and wetlands filter toxins and other impurities from water. Communities can reap the benefit of this ecological service. Leaving some of these filtering ecosystems intact can reduce the burden on water treatment plants that have been built to perform the same service. By using natural filtering systems, we have the option to build fewer new treatment plants.

Biomedical Contributions
Ecologists have discovered that many plants and animals produce chemicals that protect them from predators and diseases. Some of these same chemicals have been synthesized by scientists or harvested from the organism and used to treat human diseases. For example, the Pacific Yew tree produces a substance which is used in cancer treatments. Another example is a substance found in horseshoe crabs, hemolymph, that is used in leukemia treatments.

You can learn more at https://esa.org/about/what-does-ecology-have-to-do-with-me/