What best describes population ecology?

Population ecology is best described as the study of how populations interact with their environment. This field focuses on the dynamics of species populations and their relationships with both biotic and abiotic factors in their ecosystems. It examines aspects such as population size, density, distribution, and the various factors that influence these characteristics, including competition, predation, and resource availability.

Understanding population ecology is essential for predicting how populations will change over time and how they might respond to environmental changes, such as habitat loss or climate change. This knowledge is crucial for conservation efforts and managing natural resources effectively. The other options listed pertain to entirely different fields of study: weather patterns relate to meteorology, plant physiology focuses on the biological processes of plants, and oceanic currents are studied within oceanography. Each of these disciplines looks at different aspects of the natural world and does not encompass the interactions of species populations with their environments, which is the core focus of population ecology.