Functional ecology studies the functions of species in nature, examining their roles and interactions within ecosystems. It involves interdisciplinary approaches and sustainability studies, with employment opportunities in education, government, and conservation organizations.
In the field of ecology, functional ecology looks specifically at the functions performed by various species in the natural world. A fair amount of interdisciplinary studies are involved in functional ecology, with people approaching it from perspectives such as ecology, genetics, evolutionary biology, biology, meteorology, and even fields such as urban planning. Researchers in this field view nature as an interconnected system and examine the roles played by each of its parts.
It has long been known that ecosystems are complex systems that balance the activities of the weather and the organisms that inhabit them, and ecologists have long viewed the environment holistically. Functional ecologists get intimate with specific organisms to learn more about what they do, how they do it, why they may have evolved to exhibit that behavior, and how they are affected by surrounding organisms. This can include fieldwork, observing organisms in the wild, as well as in the laboratory, studying things like behavior under controlled conditions and the changes that occur at the genetic level.
In a simple example of functional ecology, researchers could study the role of trees in an environment such as a rainforest. Trees play an active functional role in the forest, providing habitat, creating microclimates, enriching the soil, and sometimes even cultivating beneficial organisms. While people don’t usually think of trees as farmers, trees can actually farm in some sense by influencing what grows, or doesn’t grow, under their canopies, and they will actively promote plants and other organisms that are beneficial.
An important aspect of functional ecology is in sustainability studies. People cannot know if a certain activity is sustainable until they fully understand how that activity affects the natural environment. Therefore, it is important to examine the impact of human activities on organisms in nature and whether or not this creates a knock-on effect. The removal of a predator, for example, could create an imbalance that destabilizes an ecosystem, in which case the removal of predators could be considered unsustainable. Conversely, adding something to the ecosystem could be equally harmful.
Those interested in functional ecology can study at a number of colleges and universities around the world, with the leading scientific journal in the field published in the UK. There are a variety of employment opportunities for functional ecologists, including laboratory and field work employed by educational institutions, government agencies, and private companies such as conservation organizations. People who work in this field usually have an interest in the environment and the complex interconnected systems that make up the world around us.
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