ch. 54 part 1 Flashcards
community
assemblage of populations of various species living close enough for potential interaction
interspecific interactions
relationships between species in a community
ex. of interspecific interactions
- competition
- predation
- herbivory
- parasitism
- mutualism
- commensalism
how can interspecific interactions be summarized
positive, negative, no effect
competition
species compete for resource in short supply that limits survival and reproduction
what can strong competition lead to
competitive exclusion
competitive exclusion
local elimination of a competing species
G.F. Gause
Russian ecologist that concluded that 2 species competing for the same limiting resources cannot coexist permanently in the same place
ecological niche
sum of an organism’s use of biotic and abiotic resources - ecological role
how can ecologically similar species coexist in a community
if there are one or more significant differences in their niches
resource partitioning
differentiation of ecological niches, enabling similar species to coexist in a community
temporal partitioning of common spiny and golden spiny mouse
- both normally nocturnal
- where they coexist, golden spiny becomes diurnal (active during day)
fundamental niche
niche potentially occupied by that species
realized niche
niche actually occupied by that spcies
character displacement
tendency for characteristics to be more divergent in sympatric populations of 2 species than in allopatric populations of the same 2 species
sympatric
occurring within the same geographical area - overlapping in distribution
allopatric
occurring in separate non-overlapping geographical areas
exploitation
any +/- interaction in which one species benefits by feeding on the other species
exploitative interactions include:
- predation
- herbivory
- parasitism
predation
interaction in which one species (predator) kills and eats the other (prey)
what do predators have adaptations for
finding, identifying, catching, and subduing prey
what adaptations do prey have
to avoid being eaten - behavioral defenses
aposematic coloration
bright warning coloring in animals w/ effective chemical defenses
cryptic coloration
camouflage - makes prey difficult to spot