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Glite Dictionary
autecology

autecology

1 9.9
A study of how one species, like a plant or animal, lives and uses its environment
  • noun
  • /ˌɔːtəˈkɒlədʒi/
  • Specialized
: autecología
  • In autecology, researchers investigate how specific environmental factors influence the survival of different animal species.

Examples

  • The study of autecology reveals how a species interacts with its environment, such as how a plant species thrives in different soil types.

  • Fire regime groups were assigned to data layers according to Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) protocols (figure lc; http://frcc.gov), based on known fire-vegetation relations, the autecology of principal plant species or functional groups, and expert opinion.

    Academic text (2008)

  • By understanding autecology, conservationists can create better strategies to protect species facing habitat changes.

Surface Forms

autecology singular
autecologies plural

Morphology

autecology = ecology (semi-transparent) = aut + ecology

Built by adding the combining prefix 'aut-' to 'ecology' to form a technical term for the study of a single species; components are recognizable but the usage is specialized.

Etymology

Autecology comes from auto- meaning 'self', as in automatic, and ecology from eco- meaning 'house' or 'home', as in ecosystem. So autecology is the 'study of a single species in its home' and studies how that species lives with its environment.