A professional in the field of ecology is known as an ecologist; they are a type of scientist. Before being confined within the Occlusion Zone, the human named Elping Tsoo worked as an ecologist for the Galactic Republic.
The Star Wars universe's current canon first presented the ecologist occupation within the 2016 guidebook titled Nexus of Power. This book was created by Fantasy Flight Games for their Star Wars: Force and Destiny roleplaying game system. Later, Kell Tolkani, who was an ecologist, was featured in "A Naturalist on Hoth," a short story by Hank Green. This story was included in the 2020 compilation From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back.
Within the Star Wars Legends continuity, ecologists were initially introduced in Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races, a 1989 book by Troy Denning for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Plett, an ecologist, then appeared fully, though only in a vision, in Barbara Hambly's 1995 novel, Children of the Jedi. Finally, the roleplaying adventure "Little Empires" by Lisa Smedman, which was published in the 1996 West End Games supplement The Kathol Outback, included the first illustration of an ecologist, named Chandra Hobat.