[1] [2] The aerosphere is viewed as habitat [3] and the way that organisms respond to and take advantage of the dynamic aeroscape has relevance to the ecology, evolution, and conservation of many of the world's bird, bat, insect, and plant species.
The interactions and properties in the aerosphere, the zone that is closest to the Earth's surface, provide selective pressures that influence the size and shape of organisms, their behavioral, sensory, metabolic, and respiratory functions.
[4] Aeroecology has relied upon traditional ecological field studies such as direct observation or detection of organisms flying overhead (e.g., moon watching, thermal cameras, or bioacoustics).
In March 2012, an international and interdisciplinary Radar Aeroecology Workshop was held at the National Weather Center on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, OK, USA.
With the advent and adoption of technologies such as thermographic cameras, marine radar, and NEXRAD to aeroecological studies, the ability to detect and track sufficiently large animals in the aerosphere was revolutionized.