5.4 - How do communities and ecosystems respond to changing environmental conditions? Flashcards
What is Primary Succession?
The gradual establishment of biotic communities in lifeless areas where there is no soil in a terrestrial ecosystem or no bottom sediment in an aquatic ecosystem.
What is Secondary Succession?
A series of communities or ecosystems with different species develop in places containing soil or bottom sediment.
What does Inertia/Persistence refer to?
The ability of a living system, such as a grassland or a forest, to survive moderate disturbances.
What is Resilience in ecological terms?
The ability of a living system to be restored through secondary succession after a moderate disturbance.
What is a Tipping Point?
Where any additional stress can cause the system to change in an abrupt and usually irreversible way that often involves collapse.