A2 TEN RULES IN ECOLOGY? Key notes What are these rules? The authors experience of teaching ecology has given them experience of some common pitfalls which ecology students often make. This list, designed to counter these pitfalls, is neither comprehensive nor mutually exclusive, but we hope will nevertheless serve as a useful guide to protocol Rule 1 Ecology is a science. Ecology is a purely scientific discipline which aims to understand the relationships between organisms and their wider environment. It is important to segregate political and social impacts of ecological understanding from the scientific viewpointA2 TEN RULES IN ECOLOGY? Key Notes What are these rules? The authors’ experience of teaching ecology has given them experience of some common pitfalls which ecology students often make. This list, designed to counter these pitfalls, is neither comprehensive nor mutually exclusive, but we hope will nevertheless serve as a useful guide to protocol. Rule 1 Ecology is a science. Ecology is a purely scientific discipline which aims to understand the relationships between organisms and their wider environment. It is important to segregate political and social impacts of ecological understanding from the scientific viewpoint