Wildlife ecology

Wildlife ecology studies how wild animals interact with one another and their environments, and how populations and habitats change over time.

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Population dynamics: The study of how population sizes and structures change over time. Births, deaths, immigration, and emigration determine wildlife population change.
Wildlife management: The practice of influencing wildlife populations and habitats to meet ecological and social goals. It applies ecological evidence to decisions about species and their habitats.
Habitat: The place and environmental conditions in which an organism lives. Habitat provides the resources and conditions wildlife populations depend on.
Keystone species: A species whose ecological effects are disproportionately large relative to its abundance. Its loss can reorganize wildlife communities and ecosystem processes.
Climate change and wildlife: The effects of climate change on wild animals, their habitats, and ecological interactions. Shifting temperatures and seasons can alter ranges, resources, and population timing.
Carrying capacity: The largest population an environment can sustain under specified conditions. Food, shelter, and other resources limit how many animals a habitat supports.
Conservation biology: The scientific study of protecting biological diversity and restoring ecosystems. Wildlife ecology supplies evidence about species and habitat needs for conservation.
Food web: A network of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem. Food webs represent how wildlife species exchange energy through feeding.
Ecological extinction: The decline of a species until it no longer performs its former ecological role. A species can remain present yet cease to shape its community effectively.
Wildlife disease ecology: The study of how diseases interact with wildlife populations and ecosystems. Disease can change population dynamics and spread across species and landscapes.