What Does autoecology Mean
The analysis of the links that a species establishes with the environment is known as autoecology . It is a branch of ecology : the science focused on living beings as members of an environment, dedicated to the study of the relationships that organisms develop with each other and with said environment.
The term autoecology began to be used in 1910 . It can be said that it constitutes the elementary level of ecology , since it examines species from their interaction with what is around them.
Autecology, in this context, observed how species adapt to biotic and abiotic factors of the environment. This process implies a successive modification, with the different generations, of the ethological, morphological and physiological characteristics of the specimens.
These adaptations investigated by autoecology can be seen in multiple situations and cases. The hibernation of marmots is one example. These animals spend several months in their burrows during the coldest time of the year, thus minimizing the use of resources and can survive in adverse weather conditions.
Temperature, the arrival of solar rays to the surface, wind and pollution, among many other variables, affect the autoecology of a species. These issues force living beings to change (or, more precisely, to evolve ) in order to be in a position to survive, develop and reproduce. Without a successful adaptation to the environment, a process that leads to the extinction of the species can be triggered .