Download Community Ecology Notes

Biology, I
Community Ecology
NAME: ___________________________________
Date: ____________________
Period: _____
Community Ecology Notes
Community – a _________ of ______________________ of __________________ _____________ living
close enough to interact
Community Interactions:
 _______species interactions - ___________ the ____________ species

_________ species interactions - _____________ _________________ species

Interactions are ________________ by whether they help, harm, or have no effect on the species
involved.
Competitive Exclusion Principle:
 States that when two species are vying for the same niche, the one with slight reproductive potential will
eliminate the other (“_________________________________________________________________”)
Ecological Niche
 Sum total of biotic and abiotic resources that the species uses
in the environment.
o _______________________ niche is the
___________________ niche available to the species.
o _____________ niche is the _______________ of the
fundamental niche that the species actually
________________.
Resource Partitioning
 Two species may ______________ the
Competitive Exclusion Principle ____
__________________ the fundamental
niche.
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Biology, I
Community Ecology
NAME: ___________________________________
Date: ____________________
Period: _____
Predation is a ___ / ___ Interaction
 Predation is an interaction in which _______ species _________ another.

___________________ against predators include:
o Cryptic ______________________ - when a animal is ______________________ in its coloring
o Aposematic Coloration (or _______________ coloration) – when a _________________ animal
is brightly colored as a warning to other animals
o Batesian _______________ - when a ________________ species resembles an unpalatable or
harmful species
o Mullerian mimicry – when two bad tasting species resemble each other, increasing the likelihood
of predators avoiding them
o ___________________ - when a herbivore eats part of a plant or algae

Plants defend themselves by producing chemical ___________, spines and ___________
___________________ – occurs when individuals of two or more species live in direct contact with one another
Individual A
Individual B
Parasitism
Commensalism
Mutualism
Species Diversity
 Number of different species in a community

Relative abundance of each species

Even species abundance more diverse than one with one or two species in great abundance and the rest
of the species are rare.
Trophic Structure – the ___________________ __________________________ among organisms
 Tropic levels are the links in a trophic structure
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Biology, I
Community Ecology
NAME: ___________________________________
Date: ____________________
Period: _____
Food Chains - The _____________ of _________ _____________
from plants through herbivores through carnivores through
decomposers (from one trophic level to the next)

Food Web – consists of ____________________________
Community Structure
 _______________ species – have the highest ___________
or are most __________________

__________________ species – exert control by their important ecological niche
o Example: Sea otter
Ecological Disturbances
 Storms, fire, flood, drought, or human activity

Change a community by removing organisms or changing resource availability

Can be good or bad
Ecological Succession – _____________________ in species composition in a certain area ____________
ecological _______________
 Two types:
o _______________ Succession – Plants and animals gradually invade a region that was
__________________ ___________________, where ______ ____________ has formed yet.

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Example: Volcanic Eruption
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Biology, I
Community Ecology
NAME: ___________________________________
Date: ____________________
Period: _____
o __________________ Succession - occurs when an existing community has been cleared by a
disturbance that leaves the __________ ______________.

Example: Fire, floods, hurricane
Biogeography affects community biodiversity

_______________ of the community – closer to the __________ plants and animals _________
abundant, closer to _________ __________ abundant.

__________ of the community – larger the community, more species (all other factors held equal).
Island Biogeography

Influenced primarily by two factors:
o _______________ from mainland

Closer to mainland, more immigration, more diversity
 More diversity, less extinction

Farther from mainland, less immigration, lower diversity
 Lower diversity, higher extinction.
o _________ of the island
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