Ecologists carry out assessments of the health and distribution of organisms, namely people, plants, and animals, and the relationship between organisms and their environment. Ecologists usually have a specialisation area, e.g. Freshwater, marine, terrestrial, fauna, and flora about which they conduct research and perform related tasks.

Tasks

Tasks include -
(a) Conducting research, performing tests, collecting samples, performing field and laboratory analysis to identify sources of environmental problems and recommending ways to prevent, control and remediate the impact of environmental problems;
(b) Assessing the likely impact that potential or proposed activities, projects and developments may have on the environment, and recommending whether such developments should proceed;
(c) Developing and coordinating the implementation of environmental management systems to enable organizations to identify, monitor and control the impact of their activities, products and services on the environment;
(d) Conducting audits to evaluate environmental impact of existing activities, processes, wastes, noises and substances;
(e) Assessing an organization's compliance with government and internal environmental regulations and guidelines, identifying violations and determining appropriate remedial action;
(f) Providing technical advice and support services to organizations on how best to deal with environmental problems in order to reduce environmental damage and minimize financial loss;
(g) Developing conservation plans.