The history of ecology refers to the development and transformations that the ecological discipline has undergone over time, ranging from its origin to current trends. The word ecology comes from the union of two Greek terms: Oikos (house) and logos (study). Therefore, ecology consists of the study of the place we inhabit.
If the historical evolution of ecology is analyzed, the researcher can realize that it is a relatively young science that was born attached to biology. In general terms, its main objective is the study of the relationships and conditions that form the habitat, taking into account each and every one of the beings that inhabit nature..
Some theorists claim that its origins lie in the 19th century, when the German biologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) first used the term ecology in 1869. Haeckel conceptualized it as a discipline that studies the interaction between living organisms (plants, animals) with their environment (that is, inorganic beings).
At present, it can be affirmed that ecology is not limited to the study of nature and the beings that inhabit it; it also encompasses other factors such as culture and society.
In fact, the term ecology has become very important within popular opinion, as humans began to realize that bad practices lead to the deterioration of our habitat.
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Importantly, ecology comes directly from biology. The term "biology" is very old, however, in its origins it did not have the same meaning that is attributed to it today. In Hellenic Greece, biologists were those who were in charge of observing and studying the lives of people and their customs, with the aim of later dramatizing it.
That is, a biologist was a comedian and storyteller who imitated a character, pretending his ways. Therefore, it only focused on the human being..
The philosopher Aristotle is considered to have written a text entitled Plant theory in the fourth century, however, absolutely nothing of this specimen was preserved. It is known of its existence thanks to the texts of Theophrastus.
In later years - specifically in the 1st century - Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) developed a work entitled Naturae Historiarum XXIII libri, a work consisting of an abundant compilation of species.
It is a valuable biogeographic document, however, its descriptions are made up of beliefs that are absurd for the current state of natural knowledge..
With the fall of the Greco-Roman civilization, the achievements of the natural sciences suffered a certain degree of stagnation until approximately the seventeenth century. However, some researchers rescue certain contributions made during the Renaissance.
In 1789, Gilbert White wrote Selborne's natural history, a book where analytical questions were posed about the factors that determined great changes in certain species of animals. For this reason, White is considered the first ecologist in England..
For example, this author stated that worms, although they belonged to the lowest link in the food chain, are too important for the balance of the Earth. Therefore, if they disappeared, a terrible chasm would be unleashed. In addition, White stated that worms promote vegetation, which could not survive without them..
As has been observed, although many texts had been written on living beings, none had addressed the issue of life as a phenomenon..
In 1802 it was the first time that the term biology was used. Specifically, the author Gottfried Treviranus (1776-1837) made a work called Biologie oder die philosophie der lebenden natur.
Thanks to Treviranus, a name was finally given to the study of the different ways of living of organic beings, both animals and plants; also began to address what concerns the conditions in which these organisms develop. This broad definition came remarkably close to what would later become ecology.
Most ecologists agree that the discipline of ecology actually had its beginnings in the Theory of evolution by Charles Darwin. This researcher realized that the environment is in constant change, which causes that only organisms with greater adaptability manage to survive.
In 1886, Ernst Haeckel wrote his General morphology of organisms, which he dedicated to Charles Darwin. In this text the word ecology appeared for the first time, which aimed to determine the relationships of the organism with the environment.
With the turn of the 20th century, ecological studies began to flourish. Ecologist Charles Elton stated that ecology is a "natural scientific history" that deals with the economics and sociology of animals. Likewise, the North American Frederick Clements determined that ecology works as a "science for the community".
On the other hand, Eugene Odum defined this discipline as the study of the function and structure of nature. However, for many scientists this is too broad a definition that can lose its focus..
During the 1940s, Alfred Tansley first proposed the term ecosystem. This was developed more extensively in later years by Raymond Lindeman, who conceived of the ecosystem as a kind of energy exchanges..
With the introduction of this concept, ecology became a science of integration and synthesis, which began to detach itself from biological precepts to establish links with other natural disciplines..
In 1948, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) was inaugurated, which aimed to protect the environment and promote projects worldwide to understand the relationships between different organisms, including human beings..
Another important institution is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), established in 1961. Its objective is to finance and organize a series of projects that contribute to the conservation of the most important ecosystems on Earth..
In 1992, a meeting of important leaders called the Earth Summit was held, in order to enlighten themselves about the vulnerability of the Earth and take action. Since then, different talks and proposals have been held around the world. However, the fight to protect the environment has become a titanic task for environmentalists..
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