COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS

COMMUNITY-LEVEL ECOLOGY – COMMUNITY DEF  ?? DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMMUNITY – DIVERSITY (BIO-DIVERSITY) – PREVALENT FORMS OF VEGETATION – RESPONSE TO DISTURBANCES – TROPHIC STRUCTURE

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS BIODIVERSITY – THE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF ORGANISMS THAT MAKE UP A COMMUNITY – 2 COMPONENTS SPECIES RICHNESS RELATIVE ABUNDANCE

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS TROPHIC STRUCTURE – THE FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE VARIOUS SPECIES MAKING UP THE COMMUNITY

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS COMPETITION MAY OCCUR WHEN A SHARED RESOURCE IS LIMITED – INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION TWO DIFFERENT SPECIES COMPETING FOR THE SAME RESOURCE – COMPETITIVE EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE TWO SPECIES, SO SIMILAR, THAT THEY COMPETE FOR THE SAME LIMITING RESOURCES CANNOT CO-EXIST IN THE SAME PLACE

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS COMPETITIVE EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS COMPETITIVE EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE LEADS TO THE FORMATION OF NICHES – NICHE A SPECIES’ ROLE IN ITS COMMUNITY; OR THE SUM TOTAL OF ITS USE OF THE BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC RESOURCES OF ITS HABITAT 1 SPECIES PER NICHE RULE!!!!!!!

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS 1 SPECIES PER NICHE RULE LEADS TO RESOURCE PARTITIONING – THE DIFFERENTIATION OF NICHES THAT ENABLES SIMILAR SPECIES TO COEXIST IN A COMMUNITY

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS PREDATION LEADS TO DIVERSE ADAPTATIONS IN BOTH PREDATOR AND PREY – PREDATION DEF  – PREDATOR DEF  – PREY DEF  – PARASITISM A PARASITE LIVES ON, OR IN, ITS HOST AND OBTAINS ITS NUTRITION FROM THE HOST; MAY BE CONSIDERED A FORM OF PREDATION – CO-EVOLUTION A SERIES OF RECIPROCAL ADAPTATIONS IN TWO SPECIES

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS PREDATION CAN LEAD TO UNUSUAL RELATIONSHIPS – MIMICRY ONE SPECIES COMES TO LOOK LIKE ANOTHER, UNRELATED, SPECIES TWO MAJOR FORMS – BATESIAN MIMICRY VS MULLERIAN MIMICRY

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS BATESIAN MIMICRYMULLERIAN MIMICRY

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS PREDATION HELPS MAINTAIN DIVERSITY IN COMMUNITIES – KEYSTONE SPECIES A SPECIES THAT EXERTS A STRONG CONTROL ON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE BECAUSE OF ITS ECOLOGICAL ROLE, OR NICHE

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS PREDATION HELPS MAINTAIN DIVERSITY IN COMMUNITIES KEYSTONE SPECIES A SPECIES THAT EXERTS A STRONG CONTROL ON COMMUNITY STRUCTURE BECAUSE OF ITS ECOLOGICAL ROLE, OR NICHE

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS HELP STRUCTURE COMMUNITIES SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS – AN INTERACTION BETWEEN TWO OR MORE SPECIES THAT LIVE TOGETHER IN DIRECT CONTACT

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS – 3 MAJOR TYPES PARASITISM COMMENSALISM MUTUALISM

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS

DISTURBANCE IS A PROMINENT FEATURE OF MOST COMMUNITIES – DISTURBANCE EVENTS SUCH AS STORMS, FIRE, FLOODS, DROUGHTS, OVERGRAZING, OR HUMAN ACTIVITIES THAT DAMAGE BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES, REMOVE ORGANISMS FROM THEM, AND ALTER THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS DISTURBANCES CAN LEAD TO ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION – ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION TRANSITION IN A SPECIES COMPOSITION IN A COMMUNITY

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION – TWO LEVELS PRIMARY SUCCESSION – A COMMUNITY ARISES IN A VIRTUALLY LIFELESS ARE WITH NO SOIL

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION – TWO LEVELS SECONDARY SUCCESSION – WHEN A DISTURBANCE HAS DESTROYED EXISITING COMMUNITY BUT LEFT THE SOIL INTACT

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION – EVENTUALLY RESULTS IN A CLIMAX COMMUNITY A PERMANENT FINAL STAGE IN SUCCESSION; MATURE, STABLE COMMUNITIES THAT WILL PERSIST INDEFINITELY

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS STANDARD ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION EXAMPLES INCLUDE

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS NOT ALL DISTURBANCES ARE NECESSARILY A BAD THING

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ECOSYSTEM-LEVEL ECOLOGY – ECOSYSTEM A BIOTIC COMMUNITY AND THE ABIOTIC ENVIRONMENT WITH WHICH IT INTERACTS

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ENERGY FLOW AND CHEMICAL CYCLING ARE THE TWO FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES IN ECOSYSTEMS – ENERGY FLOW THE PASSAGE OF ENERGY THROUGH THE COMPONENTS OF THE ECOSYSTEM – CHEMICAL CYCLING THE CIRCULAR MOVEMENT OF MATERIALS WITHIN THE ECOSYSTEM – **ENERGY FLOWS IN AND OUT, WHEREAS CHEMICALS ARE RECYCLED

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS TROPHIC STRUCTURE IS A KEY FACTOR IN ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS – TROPHIC STRUCTURE A PATTERN OF FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS – FOOD CHAIN THE SEQUENCE OF FOOD TRANSFER FROM TROPHIC LEVEL TO TROPHIC LEVEL

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS TROPHIC STRUCTURE – PRODUCERS  – PRIMARY CONSUMERS  – SECONDARY CONSUMERS  – TERTIARY/QUATERNARY CONSUMERS  – DETRITIVORES  – SCAVENGERS VS DECOMPOSERS 

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS FOOD CHAINS INTERCONNENT, FORMING FOOD WEBS – A NETWORK OF INTERCONNECTING FOOD CHAINS

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ENERGY SUPPLY LIMITS THE LENGTH OF FOOD CHAINS – BIOMASS THE AMOUNT, OR MASS, OF LIVING ORGANIC MATERIAL IN AN ECOSYSTEM – WHY ARE THERE SO FEWER TERTIARY CONSUMERS??

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ENERGY SUPPLY LIMITS THE LENGTH OF FOOD CHAINS – PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY THE AMOUNT OF SOLAR ENERGY CONVERTED TO CHEMICAL ENERGY (ORGANIC COMPOUNDS) BY AN ECOSYSTEMS AUTOTROPHS DURING A GIVEN TIME PERIOD

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS ENERGY SUPPLY LIMITS THE LENGTH OF FOOD CHAINS – RULE OF 10 ONLY 10% OF ENERGY IS PASSED TO NEXT TROPHIC LEVEL – PRODUCTION PYRAMID MEAT IS A LUXURY!

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS CHEMICALS ARE RECYCLED BETWEEN ORGANIC MATTER AND ABIOTIC RESERVOIRS – THE PART OF THE ECOSYSTEM WHERE A CHEMICAL ACCUMULATES OR IS STOCKPILED OUTSIDE OF LIVING ORGANISMS

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS

EUTROPHICATION – ADDING NUTRIENTS IN PONDS AND LAKES CAUSES PHOTOSYNTHETIC ORGANISMS TO RAPIDLY MULTIPLY

COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS HUMANS CAUSE A LOT OF PROBLEMS!! WHAT CAN WE DO TO ALLEVIATE THESE PROBLEMS? WELL, WE NEED TO SKIP A CHAPTER TO FIND OUT… BUT DON’T WORRY, WE’LL COME BACK TO IT