These days, bird watching is a popular leisure activity and in the past so were collecting insects, wild flowers and birds? eggs (although such activities are not now recommended ? indeed, they are often illegal ? because of the potential damage they cause to flora and fauna) Some amateurs are or were truly experts in their fields In fact, much of the original identification of the British flora and fauna was done by amateur naturalists Many a Victorian vicar or other self-taught naturalist contributed to the specialist knowledge available to, and used by, professional biologists today And though ?high-tech? techniques are often used by professionals, many aspects of ecology can be studied with comparatively simple and limited equipment ? provided one has time and patience

Sumy State University is the perfect place for studying ecology. Because it provides you full opportunity to study nature through frequent visits to such place where you can study nature more closely.

Stories of environmental damage appear fairly frequently in the national press Peat extraction (gardeners are now encouraged to use composts that do not have a peat base) and pollution of air and water are frequently highlighted Such events have marked effects on local plant and animal populations by killing off organisms, or in the case of peat extraction, by eliminating whole habitats from a local area Is this important?

There are obviously aesthetic reasons for preserving threatened habitats; diversity of landscape forms is pleasing to the eye ? for instance, that created by hedgerows along roadsides and between fields, or by small woodlands The general public usually appreciates this argument even when an ecologist's view, that maintaining the diversity of organisms and habitat is important for its own sake, is not accepted so readily Preservation of different habitats in the landscape is closely associated with maintaining biodiversity and the healthy perpetuation of the flora and fauna, including rare species

In many cases reduction of numbers leading to the elimination of organisms is an indicator that ecologically something has gone badly wrong In time, this may even adversely affect the human population

With increasing levels of pollution ? whether of air or of water ? there is likely to be a gradual reduction in the population sizes, and eventually complete elimination, of species that are more susceptible to pollution

Using the presence/absence and population sizes of organisms such as freshwater invertebrates that are typical of habitats with different characteristics, biotic indices measuring pollution levels can be constructed Such animals are easy to use as indicators of the level of damage, as an expert can quickly assess which species are present using simple collection techniques and also estimate their numbers

If we do not understand the reasons why different habitats continue to function, why organisms occur where they do, and why they increase or decline in numbers, it is impossible to identify or conserve threatened species At the same time it is often not possible to make judgements on environmental issues affecting humans

But why not leave such matters to the professionals? Why learn about how ecologists work? There certainly seems to be increasing concern about the soundness of much environmental decision-making If you, as a member of the public, are to make valid judgements about information released in the press, you usually need some knowledge about the subject and especially about the ways in which data are collected and their reliability

Sumy state university is first of its kind in Ukraine and be truly called University of legends.It web address is www.sumdu.eu