Evolutionary ecology lies at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary biology. It approaches the study of ecology in a way that explicitly considers the evolutionary histories of species and the interactions between them. Conversely, it can be seen as an approach to the study of evolution that incorporates an understanding of the interactions between the species under consideration. The main subfields of evolutionary ecology are life history evolution, sociobiology (the evolution of behavior), the evolution of interspecific relations (cooperation, predator-prey interactions, parasitism, mutualism) and the evolution of biodiversity and of communities.

Evolutionary ecologists

• George Evelyn Hutchinson
• Robert MacArthur
• Eric Pianka
• Michael Rosenzweig

References

• Fox, C.W., Roff, D.A. and Fairbairn, D.J. 2001. Evolutionary Ecology: Concepts and Case Studies. Oxford University Press.
• Mayhew, P.J. 2006. Discovering Evolutionary Ecology: Bringing Together Ecology and Evolution. Oxford University Press.
• Pianka, E.R. 2000. Evolutionary Ecology, 6th ed. Benjamin Cummings.