Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Community
Ecology
1
Learning Outcome
2
2. Distributional Relations of
Species in Communities
- Similarity between communities
1. Community
boundaries
Features of Communities
4
5
2. Distributional Relations of
Species in Communities
One method to compare communities that look similar in
sp composition: Index of Similarity
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3. Indicator Species in
Communities
8
3. Indicator Species in
Communities
Several definition of Indicator species:
signpost of community or to
determine community health.
10
Criteria for indicator sp
1. sp should be taxonomically well known and
stable
12
Community Change
2 types of change can occur in communities:
1) Linear/Directional- Communities
change from simple to complex
associations
2) Cyclical non-directional, repeated,
similar sequences of changes
predictable changes
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What factors cause community
change?
How predictable are community
changes?
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Primary succession
2 TYPES OF SUCCESSION
Secondary succession
16
Primary Succession
Primary occurs where region completely
bare ground and there are no living
organisms (e.g. bottom of drained lakes,
exposed land after glaciers retreat, area cleared
by fire and volcanic islands)
17
Primary succession
begins with naked ground exposed by geologic
activity. E.g.: Krakatau explosion
example: lichen -> moss -> grass -> shrub ->
trees -> complex forest
Secondary succession
begins on soil from which previous community
has been removed (by fire, agriculture, etc.)
example: grass -> shrub -> trees -> complex
forest
can proceed much faster because the soil has
been prepared by the previous community
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Concepts of succession
(models)
The key assumption of the classical
theory of succession is that species
replace one another
- e.g.: lichen-mosses-shrub-trees
because at each stage they modify the
environment and
make it less suitable for them and
more suitable for others
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1. Facilitation model
4. Random
3. Tolerance Concept of succession Colonization
model
model
2. Inhibition model
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1. Facilitation model
sp replacement is orderly and
predictable and provides
directionality for succession
early sp facilitate the arrival of
later sp
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Example: Alder
trees (shrubs)
facilitate
succession by
fixing nitrogen
in soils, making
them more
suitable for
invasion by
birch, aspen
spruce trees
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2. Inhibition model
Sp present in early succession inhibit establishment of
later sp
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3. Tolerance model
The presence of early successional species is not
essential
any sp can start succession as long as they
have tolerant to the limited resources
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4. Random colonization
model
illogical model with no ecological
interactions
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Summary
The first 3 (facilitation, inhibition, tolerance) agree in
predicting that pioneer sp appear first because they
have adaptive features like:
Rapid growth
Abundant seed production
High dispersal power