/r/ecology
Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house"; -λογία, "study of") is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their biophysical environment.
Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house"; -λογία, "study of") is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. This is the place to be when you want to discuss anything related to ecology!
If your submission is not related to ecological science or if it's not predominantly in English, expect it to be removed. In particular, environmental activism submissions belong in /r/environment or somewhere else.
Your post will probably be removed by the moderators if:
Is a /r/HomeworkHelp style question. If you are not a student then please state explicitly why you are asking the question
is a climate change post that is not focussed on one or more species. There are already numerous CC subreddits (that you can find in our sidebar), and also this sub would quickly get drowned out by this sort of content.
Your title does not adequately describe the content
Is a fundraising campaign/effort
Is a petition
Is a low effort image macro/meme post
What does ecology have to do with me?
Where Can I Go For More Information or Assistance?
Check out our Books about Ecology and Related Fields in the /r/ecology wiki books section
And view our Job Guides and Resources in the /r/ecology wiki jobs section
biscuitman76's guide to finding a job in ecology
/r/ecology supports the National Forest Foundation! Please share your support and DONATE HERE! If you have any questions regarding NFF, email Hannah: hettema AT nationalforests DOT org
Click here for a list of related subreddits!.
For updates to the wiki or the sidebar, or for anything else, please message the mods.
/r/ecology
Hello everyone,
I'm a young ecologist/agronomist engineer specializing in the management of natural ecosystems and resources, recently graduated, currently based in a developing country where the ecology sector is still emerging. As I aim to gain practical experience and better understand my value in the market, I'm looking for remote internship opportunities rather than full-time jobs at the moment.
Do you have any suggestions on where to look for such opportunities or tips on how to apply for remote internships in the field of ecology? Any shared experiences would also be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Hello, I am a 2nd year biology student. I saw this page and thought may be it will work. I wanna learn ecology but I do not know even the its proper way. Our lecturer recommend the book elements of ecology but I want more deep and more qualified books ( I know it is also a good book but I believe that I need go deeper and go beyond from that). So, I wanna learn the proper and efficient ways for studying ecology and names of textbooks which take me along far away than a successfull 2nd year students like me. I know I look like stupid by asking it but I feel like it is needed. I hope you all have a great day.
It's largely more of a degraded woodland & degraded forest biome that has lost a lot of the tree coverage it used to have as a result of the millennia of very intensive human explotation of the environment going back to ancient times (since the 1970s though and especially since the turn of the century the country has been very rapidly reforesting, now ranking third after Sweden & Finland in the EU in absolute forest area with 28, 22 & 19 millions of hectares respectively & eighth after the aforementioned two as well as Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Austria & Slovakia in share of forest in total area at 37%, in striking contrast with the very widespread & prevalent stereotypical caricature of hot & dry country largely barren & treeless landscape-wise & acutely threatened by desertification people have and which is actually severely lacking in nuance and doesn't tell at all the whole story).
Here where I live though in the arid (well, semi-arid* rather in more proper terms) Iberian Southeast I highly doubt that, were the aforementioned millennia of human environmental degradation that this region has suffered to all of a sudden be completely reverted, woodlands & forests would also all of a sudden dominate the landscape here outside of montane & submontane areas (already largely dominated by woodlands & forests even here in the arid Southeast) & riparian areas (which being my city as it is one of the main ones that lies in the very bank of the Segura, the main river of the Southeast, I can personally attest the natural habitat of riparian woodland & riparian forest this area used to have has been wiped out almost completely, long replaced by the world-unique Huerta de Murcia & Horta de Valencia peri-urban agricultural ecosystem, itself acutely threatened by the urban sprawl of the two cities that have always laid at the very centre, hence why 'peri-urban', of the ecosystem: Murcia & Valencia), our subtropical summer-drought semi-arid climate is simply way too dry for that I think:
So even in the situation that that were to happen in all likelihood I think matorral would still largely dominate the landscape here, however, what kind of biome even is the Spanish matorral in less specific locally to Spain terms?
From what I've seen the Spanish matorral is most often described as scrub, a type of shrubland, but isn't tree density still too high for that?
I mean, there're specific areas in particular where I'd say tree density isn't too high for that, mostly in the Southeastern Iberian Shrubs and Woodlands ecoregion, which certainly has areas of largely tremendously sparsely treed pure scrub, but that ecoregion is very, very small, covering a mere fraction of the total surface of the Southeast, the matorral in the rest of the region is more of a mosaic which while still very scrub-like in many ways is also quite woodland-like in others (especially where the matorral starts transitioning into the actual woodlands of montane & submontane and riparian areas).
The savanna is generally understood as a mixed prairie–woodland (as well as as a mixed steppe–woodland one, that typically being the case of more semi-arid climate-wise savannas) biome, ranging from scatteredly treed prairies to in spite of even higher than found in forests' tree density still open canopy-wise woodlands, not so much as a mixed scrub–woodland (which is how I would describe the Spanish matorral where it isn't neither actual pure scrub nor degraded woodland or degraded forest) or more generally mixed shrubland–woodland one, which however if I'm not mistaken would also fit under the savanna umbrella.
Would you say it'd be accurate to describe it as a savanna biome then? If not, how would you describe it instead then?
I’m a phd student in marine ecology doing a lot of spatial data analysis, but have through my academic career (so far, lol) felt that my stats knowledge has been lacking..
I had a chat with a PI at UAF who recommended every student of theirs to take a masters in stats as well. Where I live, though, i can’t do that without an undergrad in stats as well.
So does anyone have any good resources, courses (free - 100usd), books, youtube series etc. on stats for ecologists?
Cheers!
I live in Qatar, and with winter coming soon I am looking forward to spending a lot of time in the desert and shoreline. There is a lot of wildlife here, but Ive never had time before this year to sit and study them. Are there any good resources for this region? Including migratory birds, insects and plants. I am pretty new to this field, so I only have a basic classifier of plants with pictures and names sorted by category, and iNature and eBird. What else do you recommend? Preferably beginner level or intermediate
Im an undergraduate applying for masters programs next fall. How do I tell a professor at my current school that I would like to do a masters project with them (in-person conversation)?
Hi everyone,
I am a scientist from Australia- I am looking for participants, across the world, for some new research I am doing.
Are you the parent/caregiver of a child aged 2-12 years? If so, we kindly invite you to participate in our short online survey about sharks. We are interested in what children know about sharks, so this survey involves you completing a couple of questions about sharks, and then asking your children some questions about sharks. You will then be asked to write what your children say or what they do (e.g. if they use hand gestures).
LINK TO SURVEY:
https://research.unisa.edu.au/redcap/surveys/?s=XYPHMNMKFEJR7H4P
Please also feel free to send to any one you know who might be interested.
The survey takes approximately ten minutes per child to complete, if you have more than one child aged between 2-12 they can all participate.
This study has received ethics approval from the University of South Australia (#206267). If you have any queries, please contact the lead researcher: Brianna.lebusque@unisa.edu.au
Recently I've taken an interest in ecology and I am wondering, how I could engage myself with it even more in my day to day life? Are there any hobbies I could get into that involve ecology and if so what are your favourite ones? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
P.S Preferably the hobbies don't require ludicrous amounts of money to be spent ( I am trying to work within a limited budget)
Hi! I figured the redditors here would be able to help me out with this random question.
I'm creating a fantasy world that exists within a single backyard. All the civilizations and inhabitants of the world would be microscopic to humans, kind of like Whoville.
But I want the civilizations in the world to have different ecosystems, climates, and landscapes that have impacted their development, depending on where they live within the backyard landscape. Would that occur on some micro level?
I apologize if this question is dumb or in the wrong place. Thanks to any suggestions in advance!
I am about a year out of college, which I graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science. I am really passionate about animals, wildlife, and ecology and was wondering if there is a good pathway to get into the field without having to go back to school immediately. I'd be willing down the line, just still working out my debt.
I’m considering some more regional options with solid labs and good regional connections, but they are not like top schools, although solid and regionally respected. I could possible get into more “top” schools in another part of the country, but worry about losing regional expertise and connections. I’d also like to be close to home.
I’m a business major. I was into majoring environmental biology and geology for a time but I decided I could do better with a business degree. But I still care a lot about the environment and I want to make a difference, is there any way I can learn more and make a difference without having to spend another 4 years for another degree? Edit: if needed, I’d be willing to take classes at a college to gain experience/volunteer hours, or any permits I’d need
Hi everyone. Not an ecologist, but trying to learn. I’m trying to understand the different types of distraction displays deployed by prey animals.
Is there a type of display that attempts to defer the predator’s attention to another species or individual within the group?
I feel like I heard about this but can’t find the name of it.
Are there rewilding jobs where you can live on-site in the UK? I want to learn more about the field in the hopes of doing something similar with my own piece of land. Ideally, I'd like to live in nature for a few months, or even a year. Is this something that's available anywhere? I’ve been searching online but haven't come across anything like this, so perhaps it doesn’t exist.
I remember doing a bit of research into the relationship between Florida green anoles and invasive cuban anoles. For a while, the cuban anoles outcompeted the green anoles. However, the green anoles developed stronger toes for arboreal climbing, thus moving to a different niche. Now, at least to my understanding, the situation in Florida is similar to those in some south American environments. Is there a way to encourage niche partitioning for other animals, or is this a rare exception?
Fishes would likely be Giant Snakeheads + Snakehead Murrel
I'm currently taking some basic science courses at a community college to apply for a wildlife ecology BS elsewhere. I'm really struggling with chemistry 1 and am wondering how it will affect my ability to get through an ecology program if i can't fully grasp the concepts. Also lets say I fail the class now, retake it and pass with an okay grade, how much would that affect my prospects of being accepted into another school? (all my bio grades are good)
Hi everyone! I am a recovering office worker and landscape architect with a heart and brain for ecology. Since late in my undergraduate degree, I have avidly been educating myself in the natural sciences: first botany and plant ecology, then ornithology, fire ecology, and nature-based infrastructure research. Now I have been out of school for 4 years and am applying to an ecology master's program for next fall while reading as much of the current literature as possible.
When I was in undergrad I really had no idea this would be my trajectory, and now I'm scratching my head as to whom to contact for letters of recommendation. It seems "normal" to list past professors and researchers one has worked with, but I never kept in touch with undergrad professors (their experience has nothing to do with ecology anyway) and I've only helped piecemeal on research projects so I don't really know if I can say if I have "research experience". I've done lots of volunteer fieldwork here and there (plant surveys, bird surveys, some herp stuff, invasive plant control, prescribed fire), worked for 3 years in landscape architecture/engineering firms, done 2 thru-hikes which were big ecological immersion experiences, and worked a season as a peon for a prescribed fire crew in south Georgia. A friend who is faculty at the school in question has joked that I have taught myself roughly a college degree's worth of plant and bird bio knowledge on my own (side note, since we are buddies and have not formally worked together he says he's not the guy to write a letter for me).
So, my question: who's best to contact for recommendations? Possibilities include bosses and collaborators from the coastal engineering realm, managers from my prescribed fire work, and even managers from when I worked at Trader Joe's for years to support myself through undergrad. I know I'm knowledgeable and hardworking enough to handle graduate study...I just don't know the best way to substantiate that claim! All tips appreciated. Thanks!
If I wanted to for example, identify in a 10m radius all the flowers and trees from a point, whats the best way to go about it if I don't have fancy tools or quadrats. Like with a tape measure and some sticks or something.
I'm designing a protocol for undergrad students and wanted some wisdom.
Hello all, like others in this field I am struggling to get interviews. I recently earned my master’s and worked as a technician for a few years before that. But I’m thinking there has to be something I can be doing better when applying for jobs and I’m starting to think AI can help me write better cover letters. I’m still writing them, and then asking AI to help with certain parts that I know need work. I’ve seen people talk about having AI basically write the whole thing for them and just wonder what peoples experiences have been when using AI for cover letters. Do I have to be worried about places checking my cover letters for AI generated text?
When researching programs for ecology many things come up
Ecology
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ecology, Evolution,and Behavior (graduate program at MSU)
If I were to do a program that is ecology and evolutionary biology, would I be able to seperate the degrees. Like would I be an ecologist and and evolutionary biologist or would I be an ecology and evolutionary biologist (if you understand what I'm trying to say)
And same thing with the ecology, evolution, and behavior. Would I be able to seperate them, if so would I be an evolutionary biologist or just have a degree in evolution?
I understand if this is confusing wording, but looking for programs can be hard
I have such a strong desire to work in the field helping our planet. Whether it be with ecology overall, the biodiversity of animals, forest/land conservation, sustainability systems etc. I feel unable to find ways to get in though- I don’t have enough to finish college and am so sick of working regular meaningless side jobs. Is volunteering the best way to start? Any tips, ideas, insight?? Am beyond ready for anything, thanks :)
Hello my dear friends. As the title says. Are there any Plattforms or Websites you can recommend where I can publish papers and articles on ecology/Conservation related topics?
A very broad question, but on average, in the western world (especially the US,) have pesticides become less harmful in the past decades since banning DDT? Are they still the major threat they once were after stricter regulations and changes in pesticide use?
Edit: not asking for homework help, I’m curious what the state of pesticides looks like now after I read Silent Spring