| 释义 |
ecology|iːˈkɒlədʒɪ|
Also œcology.
[mod. f. Gr. οἶκ-ος house, dwelling + -ology; after œconomy.]
1. The science of the economy of animals and plants; that branch of biology which deals with the relations of living organisms to their surroundings, their habits and modes of life, etc.
A supposed use of ecology in Thoreau's letters represents a misreading of geology: see Science (1965) 13 Aug. 707 and Bull. Thoreau Soc. (1973) No. 123.6.
1873tr. Haeckel's Hist. Creat. Pref., The great series of phenomena of comparative anatomy and ontogeny,..chorology and œcology. 1879tr. Haeckel's Evol. Man I. 114 All the various relations of animals and plants to one another and to the outer world, with which the Oekology of organisms has to do..admit of simple and natural explanation only on the Doctrine of Adaptation and Heredity. 1893Brit. Med. Jrnl. 16 Sept. 613/1 Œcology, which uses all the knowledge it can obtain from the other two [physiology and morphology], but chiefly rests on the exploration of the endless varied phenomena of animal and plant life as they manifest themselves under natural conditions. 1894Proc. Madison Bot. Congr. 36 The separation of..vegetable physiology into two departments: physiology proper and ecology. 1896Pop. Sci. Monthly Dec. 185 Botany..especially with reference to the physiology and ecology of plants. 1902Nature 17 Apr. 574/1 The ecology of a glacial lake. 1904C. L. Laurie Flowering Plants 6 The study of plants that grow together, forming plant associations, in some respects the most interesting part of Ecology. 1916F. E. Clements Plant Succession 73 It is one of the most important tasks of ecology to determine the root and shoot relations of communal plants. 1928R. S. Troup Silvicultural Syst. xix. 183 The development of ecology as a science has given a special impetus to the study of the physical and physiological conditions bearing on natural regeneration. 1931H. G. Wells Work, Wealth & Happiness of Mankind (1932) i. 29 Economics..is spoken of in the Science of Life as a branch of ecology; it is the ecology of the human species. 1933― Shape of Things to Come i. §12. 111 Of human ecology he betrays no knowledge. 1935Nature 2 Feb. 168/1 The study of such interactions under the given conditions of habitat is the most important part of what is called plant ecology. 1941Auden New Year Letter i. 23 And grasped in its complexity The Catholic ecology. 1967Listener 6 Apr. 459/3 In different ecologies territorial systems will vary or even be absent altogether.
2. Used attrib. (and absol.) with reference to ecological issues such as industrial pollution considered in a political context; spec. applied to various political movements (esp. in western Europe) which represent the environmental or ‘green’ interest.
[1963A. Huxley (title) The politics of ecology.] 1970Environmental Quality Mag. I. i. 30/2 Write to Granny..and tell her about your ecology activities and ideas{ddd}Wear your ecology symbol [sc. a pin] to promote a better environment. 1973Antioch Rev. XXXII. iii. 449 Ecologists as scientists may or may not share the perspectives of the ecology movement. 1974Rather & Gates Palace Guard i. 6 Some of the leaders wound up in jail..still others, buckling under pressure, turned their attention to less threatening issues, like ecology. 1979Ecology-conscious [see green n. 17]. 1980J. F. Pilat Ecological Politics 73 The United Kingdom has no significant ecological parties; the Ecology party recently had only 600 members. 1985Observer 22 Sept. 2/8 The Ecology Party changed its name to the Green Party at is annual conference in Dover. 1986New Socialist Sept. 36/1 The strongest organised hesitation before socialism is perhaps the diverse movement variously identified as ‘ecology’ or the ‘the greens’.
Hence ecoˈlogical, ecoˈlogic a., pertaining to ecology; ecoˈlogically adv., eˈcologist.
1893J. S. Burdon-Sanderson in Nature 14 Sept. 465/1 Whether with the œcologist we regard the organism in relation to the world, or with the physiologist as a wonderful complex of vital energies, the two branches have this in common. 1896Pop. Sci. Monthly May 72 These ecologic color adaptations. 1899Natural Sci. July 11 One of the most important oecological studies which has yet appeared in the United States. 1904C. L. Laurie Flowering Plants 8 Ecological classification of plants. 1909Webster, Ecologically. 1909E. Warming Oecol. Plants p. v, I have given my views on oecological classification in a more comprehensive and detailed manner. 1926Spectator 25 Sept. 492/1 Part of the distinctively modern progress in palaeontology has just been this ecological outlook. 1930C. Elton Anim. Ecol. & Evolution 7 Evolution..is not at all a popular subject among animal ecologists to-day. 1935Times 6 Mar. 10/3 We know that in some cases ecologically related trees can well gain the freedom of another country. 1936H. G. Wells Anat. Frustration ix. 86, I assume the world community..subject to general ecological laws. 1955M. Gluckman Custom & Conflict in Africa i. 7 The ecological needs for this friendship and peace lessen as the distance grows greater. 1959A. Hardy Fish & Fisheries xvi. 302 The work of the marine ecologists is only in its infancy. |