Life is a series of connections. Life does not exist in isolation. Life is context. Life is relative. Nothing about life is general or objective. It morphs, it is ever-changing, and it continually builds upon itself.
When you think ecology, you often think of the textbook definition as shown above; an animal or plant that exists within an ecosystem (emphasis on the Greek oikos for "habitat"). However, we aren't exposed to ecology in a manner that is proven time and time again to be an accurate measure of the masses: networks.
When we look at things in it's isolated format; devoid of context and existing in a vacuum, we in effect learn nothing about it. Name one thing that exists in of itself without its very existence being reliant upon another source? There is no singular dimension; there is no singular point with no other point to distinguish it. The food chain shows this; for even the bottom of the food chain is reliant upon the link above it.
Even in that pyramid we think there is a single point on top when in reality things exist more like a holocracy. The number of connections are staggering and unless we make a conscious effort to understand the various levels of abstractions experienced amongst several different entities, then ecology in its truest form is meaningless. I strongly believe that we have yet to fully grasp the secrets behind ecology; we must incorporate mathematics and networks into the mix.
