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ECOLOGY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment
Synonyms:
bionomics; ecology; environmental science
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("ecology" is a kind of...):
biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)
Domain member category:
biotic community; community ((ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other)
association ((ecology) a group of organisms (plants and animals) that live together in a certain geographical region and constitute a community with a few dominant species)
food chain ((ecology) a community of organisms where each member is eaten in turn by another member)
food pyramid ((ecology) a hierarchy of food chains with the principal predator at the top; each level preys on the level below)
food cycle; food web ((ecology) a community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains)
ecesis; establishment ((ecology) the process by which a plant or animal becomes established in a new habitat)
ecological succession; succession ((ecology) the gradual and orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable climax is established)
ecological niche; niche ((ecology) the status of an organism within its environment and community (affecting its survival as a species))
cosmopolitan; widely distributed (growing or occurring in many parts of the world)
endemic (native to or confined to a certain region)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "ecology"):
palaeoecology; paleoecology (the branch of ecology that studies ancient ecology)
Derivation:
ecologic; ecological (of or relating to the science of ecology)
ecologist (a biologist who studies the relation between organisms and their environment)
Domain member category:
eutrophic ((ecology) of a lake or other body of water rich in nutrients and subject to eutrophication)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The environment as it relates to living organisms
Example:
it changed the ecology of the island
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("ecology" is a kind of...):
environment (the totality of surrounding conditions)
Derivation:
ecologic; ecological (characterized by the interdependence of living organisms in an environment)
ecologist (a biologist who studies the relation between organisms and their environment)
