Download Ecological Succession

ECOLOGICAL
SUCCESSION
Ecological Succession:
Succession: Series of
environmental changes
that occur in a
predictable way.
Types of Succession
Primary Succession
And
Secondary Succession
Primary Succession
• Begins in a place without any soil
– Sides of volcanoes
– Glacier recession
• Starts with the arrival of living things
such as lichens that do not need soil
to survive
• Called PIONEER SPECIES
The Island of Surtsey…
Example of Primary Succession
New Land
Formed from an Underwater Volcano
http://botit.botany.wisc.edu
http://www.saguaro-juniper.com/
Primary Succession
• Soil starts to form as lichens and the
forces of weather and erosion help
break down rocks into smaller pieces
• When lichens die, they decompose,
adding small amounts of organic
matter to the rock to make soil
http://www.life.uiuc.edu
Primary Succession
• Simple plants like mosses and ferns
can grow in the new soil
http://www.uncw.edu
http://uisstc.georgetow
n.edu
Primary Succession
• Insects, small birds, and mammals
have begun to move in
• What was once bare rock now
supports a variety of life
http://p2-raw.greenpeace.org
Secondary Succession
New plant life that occurs after all plant life has been destroyed. (Soil still intact)
Secondary Succession
• Begins in a place that already has soil
and was once the home of living
organisms
• Occurs faster and has different
pioneer species than primary
succession
• Example: after forest fires
http://www.geo.arizona.edu
http://www.ux1.eiu.edu
http://www.agen.ufl.edu
Result of Both = Climax Community
• A stable group of plants and animals
that is the end result of the
succession process
• Does not always mean big trees
– Grasses in prairies
– Cacti in deserts
create & complete the venn diagram
Primary
•No Soil
•No previous
land
•Formed from
volcanoes, sand
dunes, glacier
recession
•Slower than
secondary
• pioneer plants
are first to grow
Secondary
• progress
to mature/
climax
stage
• types of
succession
• have biotic
and abiotic
factors
•Soil is present
•Preexisting land
•Forms after
human impact or
natural disasters
(fires, floods,
tsunamis,
hurricanes)
•Faster than
primary
•No need for
pioneer plants
You Have 5 Minutes to Complete this Section!
• Game Time
• Read each description and decided whether it is
primary or secondary succession.
1. An old house was torn down. Small plants and grasses grew in a
vacant lot. Over the next few years, bushes and tree seedlings began
to grow.
2. An undersea volcano erupted and formed a small island. Mosses and
lichens began to grow on the bare volcanic rock.
3. A logging company cut down all the large spruce trees in an area of
forest. After the area was cleared, spruce seedlings began to sprout.
Animals returned to the area.
4. A wildfire broke out across the California area and continued to spread
for several days. As a result, many plants and crops were destroyed
and animals for forced to find new shelter.
5. A glacier retreats and leaves behind gravel deposits called moraine.
The youngest moraines are populated with bacteria and fungi and will
soon become lichens.
• Read each description and decided whether it is primary or secondary
succession.
1. __S____ An old house was torn down. Small plants and grasses grew
in a vacant lot. Over the next few years, bushes and tree seedlings
began to grow.
2. __P____ An undersea volcano erupted and formed a small island.
Mosses and lichens began to grow on the bare volcanic rock.
3. ___S___ A logging company cut down all the large spruce trees in an
area of forest. After the area was cleared, spruce seedlings began to
sprout. Animals returned to the area.
4. ___S___ A wildfire broke out across the California area and continued
to spread for several days. As a result, many plants and crops were
destroyed and animals for forced to find new shelter.
5. ____P__ A glacier retreats and leaves behind gravel deposits called
moraine. The youngest moraines are populated with bacteria and fungi
and will soon become lichens.
exit ticket
• Explain:
– How is primary succession like a
homemade meal?
– How is secondary succession like
leftovers?