Who among the following has hypothesised the structure and function of ecosystem ?

Bentham and Hooker
Darwin
Tansley
Hutchinson

The correct answer is (c), Tansley.

Tansley was a British botanist who coined the term “ecosystem” in 1935. He defined an ecosystem as “the whole system (in the sense of physics) including not only the organisms but also the physical factors of the environment, acting as a whole.”

Bentham and Hooker were British botanists who published a classification of plants in the 19th century. Darwin was a British naturalist who is best known for his theory of evolution. Hutchinson was a British ecologist who studied the distribution of species in ecosystems.

Tansley’s definition of an ecosystem is the most widely accepted definition today. It emphasizes the importance of the interactions between organisms and their environment.