Difference Between Environment and Ecology

Last Updated : 23 Mar, 2023

The environment is simply the surrounding in which we live, along with other living and non-living components. These components interact with each other and their surroundings in some form. The scientific study that deals with such relationships and interactions is called Ecology.

What is Environment?

By definition, the environment is the integration of an interactive and functional relationship between biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components. The biotic components involve all life forms ranging from humans and animals to microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, algae etc. On the contrary, abiotic components comprise physical factors like land, river, air, cloud, oceans, deserts, temperature, etc. These two components, together with chemical interactions involving chemical cycles (nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle, etc.), provide the biological sense of the environment. These interactions structure the environment, which comprises biodiversity, habitat, and energy. Any change in this environmental composition can influence climatic and weather conditions, which is crucial for all biological forms. These disruptions may disturb the diversified ecosystems and healthy ecological settings. Therefore, all living entities’ natural life processes and physical requirements are significantly dependent on the environment. Not only natural disruptions but human activities also have a significant impact on the global environment. There are two different types of environments:

a) Geographical Environment
b) Man-made Environment

The study of the environment aims at providing solutions to reduce waste, and deforestation, eradicate pollution and safeguard coral reefs.

What is Ecology?

Unlike the broader concept of science and life sciences covered under the term ‘environment’, ecology is majorly focused on how everything in the environment works. The ecological study takes into account the dependency of creatures on each other for survival. The term ecology was first used by Ernst Haeckel in 1869. Ecology is a greek word ‘oikos‘ meaning home or estate, and ‘logos‘ meaning study. Its main components are individuals or organisms, species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere. These components are determined based on various resource distributions and their compositions. Some such resources are sunlight, water, and nutrients. The ecological study can be subdivided into two parts:

a) Autoecology: relationship of one species of organism.
b) Synecology: ecological studies of communities or an entire ecosystem.

It considers different habitats, human population interactions, and ecosystems and studies the physical features of all species, even including the small living entities such as nucleic acids and cells. This kind of investigation and analysis help promote human health and, at the same time, conserves natural resources.

Environment vs Ecology:

Environment and ecology are closely interrelated. The environment tends to maintain an ecological balance. Disturbance in one part of the environment tends to impact the area’s ecology. For example, the impact on a forest environment due to various factors, including flood, fire, and encroachment, affects the ecology of that particular forest area. Many animals and other living beings may not survive, and the population of a species or community will decrease, affecting the ecology. Contrarily, if an organism changes its habitat and hence, the environment, its ecology stays the same, no matter wherever it goes. Although the terms environment and ecology are major components that we observe in our surroundings and are often mistaken to be the same, they differ in terms of functions and qualities. In short, ecology defines a relationship between the elements that co-exist in the environment.

Environmental factors involve broader issues like global warming, pollution, and deforestation, whereas ecological factors consider the population distribution and diversity among organisms. While the environment is related to investigating internal and external influencing factors, ecology is more focused on understanding life processes, population distribution, and biodiversity. The environment can be both small and large. On the other hand, ecology is a wide spectrum encompassing a variety of smaller habitats. The study of the environment targets protecting both organisms and the environment from the adverse effects of human activities and climatic changes. At the same time, the study of ecology encompasses how ecosystems develop and how to lessen the damage caused by human activities.