Fundamentals of Ecology by Eugene P. Odum

The text retains its classic holistic approach to ecosystem science, but incorporates and integrates an evolutionary approach as well. This Fifth Edition of FUNDAMENTALS OF ECOLOGY is co-authored by Odum's protege Gary Barrett and represents the last academic text Odum produced. FUNDAMENTALS OF ECOLOGY was first published in 1953 and was the vehicle Odum used to educate a wide audience about ecological science. Irrespective of this, Odum is regarded as the father of ecology for his work.The late Eugene Odum was a pioneer in systems ecology and is credited with bringing ecosystems into the mainstream public consciousness as well as into introductory college instruction. Note: Although Odum was the first who brought this discipline forward through his textbooks, still this term was sometimes said to be coined by Arthur Tansley. Therefore, he is regarded as the father of ecology. It is important to know that other than this, Odum studied how these ecosystems are interacting with each other and maintaining the ecological balance. Interestingly, the Odum brothers' textbook, Fundamentals of Ecology, was the only book in the ecology discipline for almost ten years.

Odum published a book on ecology in collaboration with his brother, Howard Odum in 1953. Some scientists were not even sure that it could be considered on a larger level, or as an individual field of biology in itself. Initially, before Odum’s work, the ecology of various species and their surroundings had been considered in a very limited way within separate sub-disciplines of biology. Even though it is still sometimes considered to be coined by Lindeman in 1942, this term 'ecosystem' first became visible in 1935 by the ecologist, Arthur Tansley. Odum was the one who put forward the significance of ecology as a separate field that should be a basic dimension for the work of a biologist. An even eminent biologist like Odum was initially thought to be less knowledgeable about the interdependence of ecosystems with each other. In the 1940s, ecology was not considered even an area of study that could be an independent discipline. Organisms and their surrounding are interconnected. In this specific question, we need to understand that ecology is the study of the interdependence of organisms with abiotic as well as biotic environments. His first textbook was published in 1953, which remained the only book in that particular field. Hint: Odum was the first scientist who brought forward a specific discipline of biology as a separate discipline.

Fundamentals of Ecology by Eugene P. Odum