生态学家研究生物与环境之间的相互作用，以及这些相互作用在个人，人口，社区和生态系统层面的后果。进化生物学家通过对生命树和化石记录的研究，以及对导致适应，表型变异和生物多样性的过程的研究，来记录生物的历史。生态学研究极大地增进了我们对自然生态系统以及由于人类影响而导致的那些系统如何变化的理解，而进化生物学深刻地改变了我们对动植物（包括人类）起源的理解。
Ecologists study the interactions between organisms and environments, and the consequences of those interactions at the individual, population, community, and ecosystem levels. Evolutionary biologists document the history of organisms through study of the tree of life and the fossil record as well as through study of processes that have resulted in adaptation, phenotypic variation, and biotic diversity. The study of ecology has greatly enhanced our understanding of both natural ecosystems and how those systems are changing due to human impacts, and evolutionary biology has deeply altered our understanding of the origins of plants and animals, including humans.