Which term refers to the field studying relationships between organisms and their environment?

• A. Population and ecology
• B. Sociology
• C. Ethology
• D. Biogeography

Answer: (A)

Understanding how organisms relate to their surroundings is the realm of ecology. Ecology looks at how living beings interact with each other and with nonliving parts of the environment—things like climate, water, soil, and resources—and how these interactions shape populations and ecosystems. The option that pairs population with ecology signals this broad study of organism–environment relationships, making it the best fit. In contrast, sociology focuses on human society, ethology on animal behavior, and biogeography on the distribution of species across places. So ecology, as represented here, best captures the idea of studying relationships between organisms and their environment.