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Learn About Ecology
What is Kids do Ecology (KDE)? | What Does the Website Include? What is the Scientist in the Classroom Program? | Careers | Endangered Species | Frequently Asked Questions |
What is Ecology?

fish

What is ecology about, anyway?
Ecology is the relationship of living things to each other and to what’s around them. So, if you are learning about what kinds of relationships fish have with other animals (including us!) and plants in their neighborhood, then you are learning about ecology. 

The word ECOLOGY comes from Greek words meaning “study of the household.” That means that ecology is the study of the “household” of living things: their neighbors and neighborhood.

Ecology includes not only how living things interact with each other, but how they interact with their physical environment: things such as climate, water, and soil. Learn more about these interactions in the Biomes section of this website.

Ecologists are the scientists who study ecology. They are curious and like to learn about living things by observing them, seeing what happens, and recording what they find. This is all part of the scientific method.

The Learn About Ecology section of this website introduces the study of ecology, describes careers in ecology, provides interviews with ecologists and gives an overview of the Kids do Ecology Program and website. It includes a discussion of endangered species, provides links to additional resources, and answers frequently asked questions.

Some ecologists study a specific species or habitat. They might study the behavior of a single species to see how it interacts with other organisms and the environment. Or, an ecologist might study many different species that either depend on each other (a food web, for example), or compete with each other for food and space. There are many fields of ecology with lots of things still to be discovered.

Careers

An Ecologist Talks About her Work
What is a Job in Ecology Like?
Types of Careers in Ecology
Information on Other Careers in the Environment