# Ecology > **Machine-Evolution Nexus:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] connects this node to the substrate-independent history of heredity, selection and computational populations. **Domain:** Biology / Systems / Environment **Doc Type:** Canonical Discipline Node **Maturity:** Foundational ## Definition **Ecology** is the study of relationships among organisms and between organisms and their physical environments across scales from individuals to the biosphere. ## Evolutionary Nexus Evolution describes change in inherited populations; ecology describes much of the selection environment in which that change occurs. The two are inseparable but not interchangeable. [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] routes ecology through serpentine soils, patch populations, Indigenous land management and human-built technical environments. For machine intelligence, ecology prevents the isolated-model fallacy. A model's behavior depends on data producers, operators, energy, institutions, interfaces and competing systems. For continuity, a reconstructed or post-biological person likewise occupies an ecology of custodians, substrates, jurisdictions and reciprocal claims. ## Key Insight **No intelligence is autonomous from the relations that supply its energy, information, correction and opportunities to act.** ## Sources / Provenance - Eugene P. Odum and Gary W. Barrett, _Fundamentals of Ecology_. - Nexus synthesis: [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]]. ## See Also [[wiki/Human Ecology|Human Ecology]], [[wiki/Systems Ecology|Systems Ecology]], [[wiki/Niche Construction|Niche Construction]], [[wiki/Energetic Sovereignty|Energetic Sovereignty]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “Which facets of life will we never understand once biological and cultural diversity has vanished?” > **— Daniel Haun**, *2018 Edge Annual Question, question* [[reminders/Preservation/What Will Vanish With Biological and Cultural Diversity by Daniel Haun|What Will Vanish With Biological and Cultural Diversity by Daniel Haun]] > “When you start reducing ecosystems by allowing species to go to extinction, then what you were doing is weakening the system as a whole, and then it becomes vulnerable to accelerating change and collapse.” > **— E. O. Wilson**, *Living on Earth, E. O. Wilson interview, July 21, 2017* [[reminders/Extinction/Species Extinction Weakens Whole Ecosystems by E. O. Wilson|Species Extinction Weakens Whole Ecosystems by E. O. Wilson]] > “Whether the geologic experts anoint it as an official epoch, enough of society has already decided the Anthropocene is here. Humans are a planetary force.” > **— Jennifer Jacquet**, *2017 Edge Annual Question, response passage* [[reminders/Human Animality/Humans Are a Planetary Force by Jennifer Jacquet|Humans Are a Planetary Force by Jennifer Jacquet]] ## Relationships - **Edge source and reminder relationship:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] records the original Edge Annual Question responses; the source-checked quotations below route to their individual reminders and back to this topic.