By inventorying and monitoring biodiversity, ecologists study species abundance, functions, interactions, and importance to maintaining or enhancing the quality of human life. Ecologists study the natural changes in biodiversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels. This allows them to evaluate human impact by comparing natural processes to human-induced changes. Recent work suggests that the loss of populations are of greater consequence than the loss of species and are occurring at a faster rate. Ecologists also play a prominent role in researching the conservation, restoration, and use of biodiversity and related ecosystem processes.
Some ecologists investigate the effects of different land uses and management practices.
Restoration ecologists are developing rationale and methodologies for rehabilitating or restoring damaged habitats and for reintroducing native species. Another important area of ecological research is understanding the implications of global climate change for biodiversity conservation. A new challenge for ecologists is determining the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. This issue was identified as one of the top research trends for 1998 by Science magazine. Ecologists are working with other biological scientists, as well as social scientists, policy-makers, and economists.