Community Ecology

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Community Ecology

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The study of distribution, abundance, demography, and interactions of communities

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Community

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Multiple populations living within the same general area; use the same resources, experience similar environmental factors, and have a high likelihood of interacting.

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Interspecific Interactions

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Interactions of different species within a community

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Interspecific Competition

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Interaction between species in which resources whose abundance is not enough to support all populations are competed for; detrimental to both species (-/-)

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The Competitive Exclusion Principle

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Two species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist in the same place; however, ecologically similar species can coexist in a community if there are one or more significant differences in their niches.

G.F. Gause, Russian Ecologist, 1934

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Ecological Niche

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The total of species' use of the biotic and abiotic resources in its environment; the way in which the organism fits into an ecosystem

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Fundamental Niche

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The potential niche a species can occupy in an environment

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Realized Niche

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The actual niche occupied in an environment

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Resource Partitioning

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Differentiation of niches (via evolution by natural selection) that allows similar species to coexist

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Character Displacement

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The tendency for characteristics to be divergent in sympatric populations of two species than in allopatric populations of the same two species

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Predation

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Interaction between species in which members of one species kill and eat another; beneficial to one species, detrimental to the other (+/-)

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Predator

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The species that kills other species

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Prey

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The species killed by other species

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Predator Offenses

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Acute Senses
Subduing Adaptations (Claws, Teeth, Fangs, Stingers, Poison, etc.)
Agility (If pursuing prey)
Camoflague (If waiting for prey)

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Prey Defenses

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Fight or Flight Response
Cryptic Coloration
Aposematic Coloration
Batesian Mimicry
Mullerian Mimicry

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Crypitc Coloration

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Camoflague; morphological adaptation that makes prey difficult to recognize

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Aposematic Coloration

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Coloration of animals that have strong defenses against predators (usually chemical); will not save the individual if attacked, but will aid the population

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Operant Conditioning

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Modification of behaviors over time as a result of consequences of said behavior; teaches a predator to avoid certain prey while attacking others

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Batesian Mimicry

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The imitation of an unpalatable (harmful) species by a palatable (harmless) species; used to deceive predators operantly conditioned not to attack the unpalatable species

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Mullerian Mimicry

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The imitation of an unpalatable species by another unpalatable species; increases the rate at which predators experience operant conditioning

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Parasitism

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Interaction between species in which organisms feed upon other organisms but (usually) do not kill said organism; beneficial to the first organism, detrimental to the second organism (+,-)

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Parasite

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The organism that feeds on other organism; can have signivicant effect on the survival, reproduction, and density of a host population either directly or indirectly

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Host

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The parasite that is fed upon by other organisms

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Endoparasites

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Parasites that live in the internal environment of their host

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Ectoparasites

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Parasites that live on the extertnal environment of their host

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Parasitiodism

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A parasitism in which parasites lay eggs within living hosts, allowing parasites to feed off the host and eventually kill it

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Herbivory

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Interaction between species in which an organism feeds on plants or algae; Beneficial to the herbivore, detrimental to the plant (+/-)

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Predatory Herbivory

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Herbivory in which an organism consumes the whole plant; not as common as parasitic herbivory

Ex. Seed Predators

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Parasitic Herbivory

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Herbivory in which an organism consumes only part of the plant; most common form of herbivory

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Pathogenesis

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Interaction between species in which microscopic organisms (usually bacteria, viruses, or protists, sometimes fungi or prions) infect a host organism; beneficial to the invading organism, detrimental to the host (+/-)

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Pathogen

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Organisms that cause disease in a host organism

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Commensalism

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An interaction between species that is beneficial to one species and neither beneficial nor detrimental to another (+/0)

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Mutualism

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An interaction between species that is beneficial to both species (+/+)

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Coevolution

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Reciprocal evolutionary adaptations of two interacting species

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Species Diversity

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The variety of organisms that make up a community; dependent upon both species richness and relative abundance

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Species Richness

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The total number of different species in the community

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Relative Abundance

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The proportion each species represents of the total individuals in a community

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Trophic Structure

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The feeding relationships between organisms in a community

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Food Chain

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A simplified (and inaccurate) model of energy flow along trophic structure

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Primary Producers

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Organisms in a food chain that produce their own energy; autotrophs

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Primary Consumers

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Organisms in a food chain that feed on primary consumers; herbivores and omnivores

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Secondary Consumers

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Organisms that feed on primary consumers; carnivores and omnivores

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True or False: Animals only consume at one trophic level

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False: Animals can consume at multiple trophic levels; thus is the reason why food chains are inaccurate

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Food Web

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A complex of the feeding relationships between organisms in a community; demonstrates all trophic levels of each organism

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What is the highest observed number of trophic links in a food chain? The average?

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Seven; Five

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Energetic Hypothesis

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A proposal that the length of a food chain is caused by inefficiency of energy transfer along the chain

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How much energy stored in organic matter at each trophic level is passed on to the next level?

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10%

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Dynamic Stability Hypothesis

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A proposal that long food chains are less stable than short food chains due to population fluctuations at lower trophic levels

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Dominant Species

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The species in a community that are the most abundant or have the highest biomass

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Invasive Species

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Species introduced to a community that grow at an exponential rate

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Keystone Species

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Species that exert strong control over community structure due to their ecological niche

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Facilitators

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Organisms that alter the structure or dynamics that has positive effects for one or more species in a community

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Bottom-Up Model

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Model that revolves around unidirectional influence from lower trophic levels to higher trophic levels

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Top-Down Model

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Model that revolves around unidirectional influence from lower trophic levels to higher trophic levels

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Biomanipulation

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Modification of a community using knowledge of trophic structure to improve an environment's conditions

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Nonequilibrium Model

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A model describing communities that change consistently after being buffeted by disturbances

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Disturbance

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An event that changes a community through the removal of organisms and the alteration of resource availability

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Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis

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Disturbances of a moderate level can create can create conditions that foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance

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Ecological Succession

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The sucession of one species by another

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Primary Succession

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The colonization and succession of a lifeless area where soil has not yet formed

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Secondary Succession

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The colonization and succession of an area where an existing community was removed and left soil intact

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Pioneer Species

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The species that colonizes an area to be ecologically succeeded

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What are three impacts a pioneer species can have on a succeeding species?

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Facilitation - makes an environment more favorable to a species
Inhibition - resists succession of a species; succession occurs in spite of pioneer species
No Effect - Succeeding species tolerates changes made by pioneer species but is neither helped nor harmed by said changes