The 'laws' or 'guidelines' have been called the basic laws of nature and all animals, humans included, have to obey these laws if they are to survive. In the case of humans, many of the laws have become hidden by the complex societal and cultural infrastructure of modern life. The origin of the word ecology is of interest. It has been traced to the Greek word oikos which means household and thus ecology basically means the management of the household, or the management of the living space. It is relevant to note the similarities between the terms ecology and economy .
Ecology is a study of relationships between plants, animals and their environments.
Rather than draw hard lines around each discipline the modern approach is to suggest that a number of cognate subject areas can interrelate to a problem, each providing a specific input. A very similar interpretation can be given to modern geographical and conservation studies and the conclusion is quickly reached that knowledge is not compartmentalised into the preserve of individual academic disciplines. Instead, we now realise the need to embark upon projects of inter-disciplinary nature. Their field of enquiry is no less wide than the totality of the living conditions of the plants and animals under observation, their systematic position, their reactions to the environment and to each other, and the physical and chemical nature of their inanimate surroundings. It must be admitted that the ecologist is something of a chartered libertine.