MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Ya.I. Fedoniuk 2010

BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 2. BIOGEOCENOTIC LEVEL OF ORGANIZATION OF LIFE AND HUMAN PLACE IN IT

2.1. BASICS OF HUMAN ECOLOGY

Ecology, Human Ecology: Subject Matter, Objectives, and Methods

Ecology is a biological science that investigates the interactions between organisms and their communities, as well as with their environment, which constitutes its core subject matter. The term "ecology" was first introduced in 1866 by the German evolutionary biologist E. Haeckel (1834–1919). The principal methods of ecological research include field observations, experiments in natural settings, and the MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF processes and situations occurring within populations and biogeocenoses.

Human ecology is the science that examines the interactions between humans and their environment. The term "human ecology" was coined in 1921 by R. Park and E. Burgess. The Subject Matter of human ecology focuses on human-environment interactions at the organismal and population levels, whereas social ecology explores the relationships between human society and the environment.

Rapid population growth and intensive industrial development have led to environmental pollution, landscape degradation, the extinction of numerous PLANT AND ANIMAL species, and the depletion of the Gene pool. Consequently, a matter of paramount importance has emerged: environmental protection, public health preservation, and the rational use of natural resources. These challenges can be addressed by studying the Structure and functioning of populations, biogeocenoses, and The Biosphere as a whole, given that the biological species *Homo sapiens* exists in the form of populations that are integral parts of biogeocenoses and the biosphere. These issues fall within The Scope of ecology. The growing awareness of the urgent need to solve environmental problems—which are of vital importance to every inhabitant of the planet—has drawn the attention of not only biologists, but also specialists from various scientific fields and the general public, with a particularly heightened interest among young people. Under these conditions, the ecologization of the educational process has become essential. Its objective is to foster ecological thinking among future pharmacists—a profound understanding of the inextricable unity between humans and nature, and of human well-being's dependence on environmental health. The Role of ecology in the training of physicians and pharmacists is steadily growing, driven by the close connection between ecological science and contemporary challenges in medicine and pharmacy.