Ecology (from Greek: οἶκος, "house"; -λογία, "study of") is the scientific study of the relation of living organisms to each other and their surroundings. Ecology includes the study of plant and animal populations, plant and animal communities and ecosystems. Ecologists study a range of living phenomena from the role of bacteria in nutrient recycling to the effects of tropical rain forest on the Earth's atmosphere.
The word "ecology" ("oekologie") was coined by[citation needed] the German scientist Ernst Haeckel 1834–1919. Haeckel was a zoologist, artist, writer, and later in life a professor of comparative anatomy.
Ecology is a sub-discipline of biology, which is the study of life, branching out from the natural sciences in the late 19th century. Ecology is not synonymous with environment, environmentalism, natural history or environmental science. Ecology is closely related to the biological disciplines of physiology, evolution, genetics and behavior.
