M.S Environmental Physiology

"Ecophysiology ,environmental physiology or physiological ecology is a biological discipline that studies the response of an organism's physiology to environmental conditions. It is closely related to comparative physiology and evolutionary physiology. The name ""physiological ecology"" clearly indicates that this discipline is a hybrid of physiology and ecology. But is physiological ecology simply another dimension of physiology or ecology alone, or is physiological ecology unique in some fundamental way from its parent disciplines (in the jargon of ecology, ""are there any emergent properties to physiological ecology "") These and other questions were asked of several biologists who were requested to submit short essays outlining their views. We hoped to use these essays to compile (a) definitions of physiological ecology, and (b) opinions on the relationship between physiological ecology and its parent disciplines. Not surprisingly, the opinions were eclectic. They varied all the way from the opinion that ""there is (not) a lizard's eyelash of difference between'physiological ecology,' 'environmental physiology,' 'ecophysiology,' or 'comparative physiology'"" (Bennett), to a jesting comment that physiological ecologists and environmental physiologists can be identified on the basis of their wardrobe (Strain)."