ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS AND SUCCESSION

INTERACTIONS  Competition  Predation  Predator  Prey  Symbyosis  Mutualism: benefits both species  Commensalism: benefits one but the other isnt affected  Parasitism: benefits one, harms the other.

WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS? Mutualism. Both are benefiting from one another.

WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS? Commensalism. One is benefiting while the other is unaffected.

WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS? Competition. They are going after the same food source.

WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS? Parasitism. One is benefiting while the other is being harmed.

WHAT KIND OF INTERACTION IS THIS? Predation. One organism is being consumed by another.

POPULATION GROWTH AND DECLINE  Predator-Prey interactions affect the population size, EX. Wolves and Moose Wolf Population

LIMITING FACTORS  Is a factor or condition that limits the growth of a population in an ecosystem.  Lack of nutrients in the soil  Too much or to little rain  Too many predators  Too few prey All of these can cause an ecosystem to become unstable and bring change.

CARRYING CAPACITY  When a population reaches a state where it can no longer grow, the population has reached its carrying capacity.  Ex: Wolves and Moose  Even without predators there is a limit to the number of Moose that can live in an area due to the amount of food and space.

SUCCESSION

 Ever seen an old abandoned house where nature is “taking it back”.  This is known as succession, a gradual change in an ecosystem in which one biological community is replaced by another. The humans have been replaced by the plants and animals that now dwell in it.

PRIMARY SUCCESSION  Where no soil or organisms exist  Example: rocks after volcano erupts or glaciers  Pioneer Species – the very first organisms that inhabit an area  How do they get there?  wind, water, other organisms carry them  What are they?  Lichens and moss

SECONDARY SUCCESSION  A series of changes in an area where the ecosystem has been disturbed, but the soil and organisms still exist  Example – tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, logging, and farming  Faster rate of succession

SUCCESSION DIAGRAM

SUCCESSION 