Words / B2

i-KOL-uh-jist/ɪˈkɒlədʒɪst/

An ecologist is a scientist who studies the relationships between living things and their environment: a marine ecologist; a plant ecologist. Ecology is the subject (already in the dictionary); biologist is broader; conservationist is often campaigning rather than lab-based. Name the ecologist in the paper, then the habitat. Mix-up: ecologist vs economist; ecologist as a TV presenter with no paper; do not write ecologist for a volunteer litter-pick unless the source names the science.

Meaning

A scientist who studies the relationships between living things and their environment.

Examples

• “Name the ecologist in the paper, then the habitat, not a TV presenter.”
• “A landscape ecologist featured in the EIA, which is the habitat-specialist sense — still name the site.”

Good to know

a marine / plant / landscape ecologist. Subject: ecology. Broader: biologist. Close: conservationist. Trap: economist / a presenter with no paper. Science and geography. A scientist of ecosystems — name the person and the habitat.

Near in meaning

biologist, conservationist, naturalist

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