G.E. Hutchinson wrote a book called The Ecological Theatre and The Evolutionary Play . In it he points out that the drama of evolution is played out in an ecological context. Ecological processes like competition and predation are the basis of evolution. Since all biological processes are ultimately part of evolution, the role of ecology is intimately coupled to it. The ecological interactions of populations, species, communities and ecosystems all have evolutionary consequences.
All environmental issues have an ecological basis and both ecological and evolutionary consequences.
Global warming, ozone depletion, deforestation, overpopulation, etc. are based on the actions and interactions between organisms and their environment, and the outcome of these issues will be felt by all species as they attempt to adapt to the new, impaired environment. Two concepts help unify this course. One is the role of diversity . The idea of the value of diversity is fundamental to evolution, population biology and ecology. The other unifying concept is spatial and temporal heterogeneity .