1. The Subject of Ecology and its
Objectives
Medical Ecology as a Modern Direction
of Ecology
2. Ecology is defined as the study of the interactions between
organisms and their environment, including both the living
(biological) and non-living (physical) components.
Ecology involves subject matter that is often readily observable
and evident all around us. From the moment of birth, each of us
interacts with the environment.
Life’s journey begins by developing relationships both with other
humans and non-human organisms, and by engaging in
interactions with our physical surroundings.
ECOLOGY
3. Every organism interacts with a
multitude of other organisms,
contributes to the flow of energy and
materials, and responds to the
physical environment in numerous
subtle ways.
Ecology aims to understand how
natural systems such as plant and
animal communities are organized
and function.
After Charles Darwin’s publication of
‘’On The Origin of Species’’ (1859)
the fact that living organisms
undergo change through the process
of natural selection began to be
incorporated into ecological study of
the dynamics of natural systems.
4. Ernst Haeckel, the German
zoologist and Darwin
contemporary, coined the term
“ecology” in 1866.
Haeckel created the new term to
draw attention to the study of
organisms in their environments,
in contrast to their study only in
the laboratory.
The “eco” in ecology (from the
Greek ‘’oikos’’) means home or
place of dwelling.
5. While ecology developed as a natural science during the 19th
and 20th centuries, many of its concepts and principles were
applied to other fields, ranging from
human social development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979),
to social and cultural systems (Park, 1952; Bennett,1993),
and to epidemiology (Last, 1998).
The application of ecological thinking began expanding by the
mid-20th century to cover human-built or “hybrid” human-
natural systems such as cities and cultivated landscapes.
This integrative approach to understanding living systems has
been found necessary for sustainability; a concept that consider
the dependence of human health and well-being on “healthy
ecosystems’’. As such, ecology has become as much a
worldview as it is a scientific discipline.
6. Ecology is mainly built on three different major sub-disciplines:
ecosystem ecology
community ecology
population ecology
In addition, the linking of
these concepts across
different scales is often
aided by landscape
ecology, which tends to act
as a bridge linking these
disciplines, especially in
applied contexts.
7. Ecosystem ecology
underlines energy flows and
material cycles, including how
energy and materials are
modified by human activities.
It aims to understand how
energy and materials (such as
water, carbon, oxygen,
nitrogen, phosphorus, and
other elements) essential to
growth and metabolism—from
the organism level to the entire
ecosystem—flow in, out,
through, and are
compartmentalized and
transformed.
8. Community ecology
deals with ecological
communities, which are
defined as complex of
interacting plants,
animals, and microbes
co-existing in a particular
location.
Its aim is to understand
the factors and mecha-
nisms that determine the
composition and diversity
of species found in a
particular place.
9. Population ecology
attempts to explain the
dynamics of species’
populations, and interactions
among species, as well as
relationships between species
and their physical
environment. The overlap of
community ecology and
population ecology becomes
apparent when we consider
that inter-species
interactions—competition,
predation, and parasitism—
are some of the key
determinants by which
species co-exist in a
particular place (that is, make
up a community).
10. We humans, the most conscious species today, are
actually unconscious of most of the “invisible” ways in
which we influence and are influenced by our
environment.
For example, most people know little of the organisms and
processes that underlie the ecological systems
responsible for the oxygen we breathe, the water we use,
the food we eat, and the infectious illnesses we get.
11. Aquatic ecology includes the study of these
relationships in all aquatic environments, including
oceans, estuaries, lakes, ponds, wetlands, rivers,
and streams. ...
WATER ECOLOGY
12. Soil ecology is the study of
how soil organisms interact
with other organisms and
their environment – their
influence on and response to
numerous soil processes and
properties form the basis for
delivering essential
ecosystem services.
13. Landscape ecology is
the study of the pattern
and interaction between
ecosystems within a
region of interest, and
the way the interactions
affect ecological proces
ses,
especially the unique
effects of spatial
heterogeneity on these
interactions.
14. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY
Molecular ecology is the use of molecular genetic
tools to study ecological questions. Techniques
such as microarrays and DNA markers are used to
study the interactions and diversity of natural
populations.
15. What is Medical Ecology?
The term Medical Ecology was first coined by microbiologist
Rene Dubos to describe a new way of viewing the human
condition in context with the environment.
Environmental medicine was formed as a new direction on the
border of medical disciplines and ecology in the mid 70's. XX
Century in the developed countries of the world that were the
first to encounter environmental problems. It took shape in
Cleveland (USA) in 1986.
Slow to take hold in the mainstream of public health, this
paradigm has rarely been applied in the last two decades, though
the urgency to do so has dramatically increased, mainly due to
the dramatic increase in the human population, and the
emergence and re-emergence of a wide variety of infectious
diseases.
16. ME - part of human ecology, which has its primary
aim of improving health outcomes, taking into account the
factors effect on the body of the human environment
Human Ecology - complex scientific and scientific-practical
direction concerning the interaction of human populations from the
surrounding social and natural environment.
«Human ecology" - as part of the overall ecology was first isolated
in 1921 by American sociologists R.Parkom and E. Burgess
Each examines the social and natural human
interaction with the operating system, the problems of the
population in order to maintain its health and performance,
improve physical and mental capabilities of human
.
MEDICAL ECOLOGY (ME)
17. Human ecology is about relationships between people and
their environment. In human ecology the environment is
perceived as an ecosystem . An ecosystem is everything in a
specified area - the air, soil, water, living organisms and
physical structures, including everything built by humans.
The living parts of an ecosystem - microorganisms, plants
and animals (including humans) - are its biological
community.
Ecosystems can be any size. A small pond in a forest is an
ecosystem, and the entire forest is an ecosystem. A single
farm is an ecosystem, and a rural landscape is an
ecosystem. Villages, towns and large cities are ecosystems.
A region of thousands of square kilometres is an
ecosystem, and the planet Earth is an ecosystem.
18. Although humans are part of the ecosystem, it is useful to
think of human - environment interaction as interaction
between the human social system and the rest of the
ecosystem. The social system is everything about people,
their population and the psychology and social
organization that shape their behaviour.
The social system is a central concept in human ecology
because human activities that impact on ecosystems are
strongly influenced by the society in which people live.
Values and knowledge - which together form our worldview
as individuals and as a society - shape the way that we
process and interpret information and translate it into action.
Technology defines our repertoire of possible actions. Social
organization, and the social institutions that specify socially
acceptable behaviour, shape the possibilities into what we
actually do. Like ecosystems, social systems can be on any
scale - from a family to the entire human population of the
planet.
20. Material, energy and information move from social
system to ecosystem as a consequence of human
activities that impact the ecosystem:
People affect ecosystems when they use
resources such as water, fish, timber and
livestock grazing land.
After using materials from ecosystems, people
return the materials to ecosystems as waste.
People intentionally modify or reorganize
existing ecosystems, or create new ones, to
better serve their needs.
21. Human ecology analyses the consequences of human activities
as a chain of effects through the ecosystem and human social
system. The following story is about fishing.
Fishing is directed toward one part of the marine ecosystem,
namely fish, but fishing has unintended effects on other parts
of the ecosystem. Those effects set in motion a series of
additional effects that go back and forth between ecosystem
and social system
An example: destruction of marine animals by commercial fishing
22. ME- The most important contemporary issues
related to the medical environment pollution. The
scientific community-at-large now realizes the
extensiveness of the relationship between human
health and a damaged environment
Medical ecology
23. Medical Ecology
is still considered an
emerging hybrid
science striving to
supply the missing
connections between
the health and the
ecological and earth
sciences.
24.
25. The Main Difficulties in Identifying the
Relationship in the "Environment - Health"
The possibility of non-additive effects and
non-linear relationship;
Very long lag symptoms responses
(delayed responses to the exposure time);
Often mediated /non-direct/effects;
Effect of mutual aggravation under the
influence of several factors(synergism)
26. individual characteristics of the body, primarily
manifested in different sensitivity and
susceptibility to environmental factors, or
contrary to the increased resistance;
frequent incorrect, imprecision and inaccuracy of
official statistics;
technical difficulties related to the organization
of environment-oriented data collection and
processing.
The Main Difficulties in Identifying the Relationship
in the "Environment - Health"
27. 1.Pollution of the environment
2.Global warming is driving dramatic and
unpredictable climate change
3.Overpopulation leads to scarcity of resources and
environmental pollution
4.Depletion of natural resources
5. Waste disposal
6. Destruction of forests
7. Ocean acidification makes shellfish fragile
8. Ozone depletion increases cancer rates
9. Sprawling cities occupy land suitable for
agriculture
10. Public health concerns are directly related to
environmental
The main ecological problems
28. The Most Important Problems of Medical
Ecology
And hygienic regulation of complex or combined effects on
the human factors of modern operating systems
Development of methodological approaches that
evaluate the risk of the combined action with the excess as
hygienic regulations and possible changes in the body
To date, there were developing, in which as the hazard
criteria of the environmental situation uses complex
environmental quality in standard scores, calculated based
on the excess of each factor takes into account the relevant
hygiene regulations.
29. The Public Health Paradigm
The influence of the environment on the outcome of human
health is complex, and at best, poorly understood.
Despite the general acceptance of this concept, public health
practitioners, for the most part, discharge their duties without
due consideration for the ecological impact of anthropogenically-
induced alterations in the environment.
30. Global climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, air and
water pollutions, the over use and mis-use of fertilizers, herbicides,
and insecticides, numerous arthropod-borne infectious diseases,
and contaminated food supplies represent current hazards to the
well-being of vast numbers of people living throughout the world.
31. All of these problems
have major environmental
components associated with
them. The rise of the oceans,
if unchecked, would likely
overwhelm whole cities and
rearrange the coastlines of
all land territories, both large
and small. It can bring also
the human health problems.
32. The Medical Ecology
Paradigm
Medical Ecology is a hybrid
science which brings the
principles of ecology, earth
sciences, and public health
together for the purpose of
analyzing problems of the
environment as they impact
on human health. In doing
so, it is expected that the
information contained there
in will serve to encourage
professionals engaged in the
both applied and basic
sciences to enter into more
comprehensive collaborative
efforts.
33. Until the beginning of the
19th century, diseases of
an infectious nature,
injuries, and accidents
were dominant.
In the 20th century, the
proportion of chronic
diseases that currently
prevailed increased,
including cancer, diseases
of the connective tissue,
immune system, chronic
fatigue, etc. .
34. Valuing contemporary factors on the health of the
population (the problems of environmental
epidemiology)
Develop activities for primary, secondary and tertiary
prevention of environment-related diseases
35. Identification of the frequency of various forms of
pathology factors
Study of changes in the clinical features of the
disease in the present conditions
Development of new approaches to diagnosis,
treatment and prevention of environmentally related
diseases
36. The main reasons for the current situation are:
the accumulation in the environment of chemical alien
compounds
depletion of systems responsible for the neutralization of
toxic compounds
heredity
food status
toxic effects
action of allergens
free radical stress
37. The internal environment of an organism - a
collection of fluids (blood, lymph, tissue fluid),
which washed the cells and tissues involved in
the implementation of the metabolism of the
organism.
THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
The Internal Environment refers to all the
inlying forces and conditions present within
the company, which can affect the
company's working.
38. The external environment - part of the
environment, which comes into contact with the
epithelium of the skin and mucous membranes,
affects all types of receptors that perceive the
world around us.
THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
External Environment is a set of all the
exogenous forces that have the potential to affect
the organization's performance, profitability, and
functionality.
39. Environment of habitation - a set of
interrelated abiotic and biotic factors
that are outside of the organism and
determine its vital functions. It is a
residential home, a place of rest, the
vehicle, hospital, etc. Human activity in
the environment of habitation is outside
of production.
ENVIRONMENT OF HABITATION
40. Work environment - part of the environment
that surrounds human, formed by natural and
climatic conditions, and professional
(physical, chemical, biological, social) factors
that affect it in the workplace.
THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
41. A modern doctor should
be distinguished by an
integrated approach to
patient problems, taking
into account the
environmental impact.
Today, environmental
medicine is relevant,
since every year the
negative impact of
environmental factors on
human health is
growing.
42. Environmental medicine professionals should identify chronic
conditions with and for eliminating the causes that could
have bring them, including the causes of pathogenic adverse
environmental effects.
43. References:
1. Keller, D.R., and Golley F.B. (eds). The Philosophy of Ecology: From Science to
Synthesis.Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2000.
2. Last, J. M. Public Health and Human Ecology. Stamford, CT: Appleton & Lange,
1998.
3. Odum, E.P. Fundamentals of Ecology. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders, 1971.
4. Nevah, Z. and Lieberman, S. Landscape Ecology: Theory and Application. New York,
NY: Springer-Verlag, 1994.
5. Begon, M., Harper, J.L., and Townsend, C.R. (eds). Ecology: Individuals, Populations,
andCommunities. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd, 1986.
6. Bennett, J. W. Human Ecology as Human Behavior. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Publishers, 1993.
7. Stojarov A.N. Medical Ecology. Minsk, 2007, 368 pp.( in Russian)
45. The list of suggested topics for student presentations:
1. Development of Medical Ecology in 21 century.
2. Ecosystem Ecology , its goal and objectives
3. Medical Ecology as a interdisciplinary science.
4. The main problems of the environment, anthropogenic
impacts.
5. Human Ecology, its aim and main objectives.
6. Ecological problems of Africa.
7. Ecological problems of Asia.
8. Ecological problems of Europe.
9. Ecological problems of Armenia.
10.Environmental disasters and the risk of people morbidity.
11.Ecosystems of big cities and people health.
