Applied Ecology

As its name suggests, applied ecology focuses on the application of ecological knowledge to address environmental challenges. Like all ecologists, applied ecologists study the distribution, abundance, and interactions among organisms as well as the ways in which organisms influence the movement of energy and materials through ecosystems. Applied ecologists have a particular interest in the ways in which organisms and ecosystems are influenced by humans. And increasingly, applied ecologists include humans as integral to the systems they study. While the term applied ecology implies the existence of basic ecology, the research aims of many contemporary ecologists embrace applied dimensions, suggesting that distinctions between applied and basic ecology can be less obvious than they once were.