Compare and contrast the terms ecology and ecosystem?

Ecology is the scientific discipline that examines how organisms interact with their environment. As such, studying different ecosystems can be regarded as a component of ecology.

Ecology is the primary field of study for interactions within ecosystems, which are defined as the system comprising biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) elements in a given area that work together as a whole.

In other words, one term basically refers to the scientific field, and the other term refers to the subject of that field's analysis.

Ecology studies the interactions between organisms and their environment, while an ecosystem is a specific, self-contained unit consisting of living organisms and their physical environment. Ecology is a broader scientific discipline, whereas an ecosystem is a specific ecological system.