ökopysiologische

Ökopysiologie, or ecophysiology in English, is a disciplinary approach that examines how the physiological functions of organisms are shaped by and respond to their natural environments. It integrates biology and ecology to understand how environmental factors influence performance, survival, and fitness across species.

The field covers a broad range of organisms, including plants, animals, and microorganisms, and operates at multiple levels from molecules and cells to organs and whole organisms. Core questions concern how factors such as temperature, water availability, light, nutrients, salinity, oxygen, and pollutants drive metabolic rates, growth, reproduction, and stress responses. Ecophysiology also investigates mechanisms of acclimation and adaptation, such as phenotypic plasticity, regulatory pathways, and evolutionary changes in tolerance and efficiency.

Methods combine field observations with controlled experiments and physiological measurements. Researchers use metabolic studies, gas exchange, photosynthesis and respiration assays, and bioenergetic models to link environmental conditions with performance. Ecophysiological modeling helps predict species distributions, seasonal dynamics, and ecosystem functioning under changing environments.

Applications include improving crop resilience and yield, understanding plant and animal responses to climate change, informing conservation and restoration, and predicting the impacts of environmental stressors on communities. The field emphasizes energy and resource budgets, organismal plasticity, and the integration of physiological processes with ecological contexts, highlighting both constraints and adaptive strategies that shape life in variable environments.