Identify the true statement from the following:

The correct answer is Option (4) → Population ecology links ecology to population genetics and evolution

Option (1) Population ecology links ecology to human physiology — Incorrect. Population ecology studies how populations grow and interact. It links ecology to population genetics and evolution, not to human physiology.

Option (2) Population ecology links ecology to population genetics — Incorrect. Population ecology does link ecology to population genetics, but this leaves out evolution. The book names both, since natural selection acts on populations.

Option (3) Population ecology links ecology to physiology and evolution — Incorrect. Population ecology links ecology to population genetics and evolution, not to physiology. Physiology deals with how a single organism’s body works.

Option (4) Population ecology links ecology to population genetics and evolution — Correct. Population ecology studies how populations grow, shrink and interact. Because it deals with the changing gene pool of populations, it links ecology to population genetics and evolution.

NCERT Extract:
Population Attributes – “… In earlier chapters you have learnt that although an individual organism is the one that has to cope with a changed environment, it is at the population level that natural selection operates to evolve the desired traits. Population ecology is, therefore, an important area because it links ecology to population genetics and evolution.”