Chapter community ecology Flashcards
Ecological community:
Interacting populations of different species living in the same specific environment
Ecological community:
Interacting populations of different species living in the same specific environment
Two factors to consider when defining a species niche:
- Preferred physical habitat/where they prefer to live
- Ecological role in the habitat/ What do they do
Define niche:
the position/location of a species in a community
Fundamental niche:
the broad range of where a specie can live based on conditions and resources (based on environment)
Realized niche:
the actual habitats of a population of species based on their activity ( competition) more specific
Phylogenetic niche conservation:
The tendency of species
to retain aspects of their ancestral niches, and therefore for closely
related species to resemble each other in niches
Antagonastic:
At least one organism loses (negatively impacted) not symbiotic
Characteristics of antagonistic:
- competition
- predation
- Paratisim
- herbivore
Mutualistic interaction:
positive for both organisms
Characteristics for mutualistic interactions:
- Dispersive: pollution
- Trophic: digestive
- Defensive: protection
Commensal interaction:
One benefits the other is not harm
Obligative vs facultative:
Obligate: symbiosis and dependent on survival
What is the benefits of having a diverse community
- higher redundancy ( similar species living in similar niches
- more stability and resistance to stress and greater resilience
How do you characterize communities by their specie diversity?
Richness: Number of species in a community
Evenness: How equally abundant species are in the community
Study the food web
fitness benefit
fitness cost
Keystone species
a species, often a predator, having a disproportionately dominant influence on the structure of a community.
Parasite
Consumes the tissue or nutrients of its host and gains fitness while costing the host
Herbivory
an animal consumes parts of a plant usually without killing it
Parastoid
is an organism that lives close association with the host at its expense eventually killing it
Dispersal/reproductive mutualism
an animal facilitates reproduction for plants in exchange for food:
- Pollination
- Seed dispersal
Digestive symbioses mutualism
microbial symbionts digest plant tissues in the gut of their host for shelter and nourishment.
Nutritional (photosynthetic) mutualism example
coral and algae:
- algae gets to eat the nitrogenous waste left by coral
- coral get to secrete caco3 skeletons and bleach
What is a long term effect of mutualism?
creates interdependence going from facultative to obligate
typically over coevolution: over long periods of both partners become more adapted to one another.
