behavioral ecology

noun

: a branch of ecology concerned with the relationship between an animal's behavior and the conditions of its environment

The more we came to know the behavioral ecology and vocalizations of one population of galago and moved on to the next, the more we realized that different species have been lumped together under the same name.

—Simon K. Bearder, Natural History, August 1995

Called behavioral ecology, it starts from the premise that social and environmental forces select for various behaviors that optimize people's fitness in a given environment.

—Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 29 June 2009

Finally, to complete this link between behavioral ecology and sociobiology, competitive interactions with other species are capable of constraining the social evolution of populations.

—Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, 1975

behavioral ecologist noun

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

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