Community Ecology (W10) Flashcards
Ecology?
= science concerned with the inter-relationship of organisms & their environment.
Community?
= an interacting group of species found in the same area.
Community ecology?
= an assemblage of populations of plants, animals, bacteria & fungi that live in an environment & interact with one another, forming together a distinctive living system with its own composition, structure, environmental relations, development & function.
Hierarchy of community Ecology? (5)
Organism
|
Population
|
Community
|
Ecosystem
|
Biome
Organism attributes? (2)
• Biotic.
• Living individual organism.
Population attribute?
Biotic.
Community attributes? (3)
• Biotic.
• Some influences of abiotic factors occur.
• Many individuals form different species interacting with one another.
Ecosystem attributes? (2)
• Abiotic.
• Biotic.
Biome attributes? (2)
• Biotic.
• Abiotic.
Thing to note when defining community ecology?
Definitions different depending on the background of who is defining it.
Characteristics of communities? (6)
• Trophic structure/organisation.
• Growth forms.
• Self reliance.
• Species diversity.
• Species richness.
• Relative abundance.
Trophic structure/organisation?
= involves patterns of feeding relationships, energy flow & chemical cycling.
Trophic organisation/structure attributes?
• see notes.
Foundational species?
= a species important for ecological function but doesn’t necessarily lead to the collapse of the community.
Foundational species attributes?
• Affects the overall structure of the community.
Eg of foundational species?
Elephants.
Why are elephants an eg of foundational species?
It’s because they don’t lead to the total collapse of the community.
Keystone species?
= species that if removed from a community will lead to the total collapse of that community.
Keystone species attributes?
• Affects the function of the community.
Eg of Keystone species?
Termites.
Why are termites an eg of Keystone species? (2)
It’s because they:
• are important for soil aeration.
• form part of the food chain.
Foundational species vs Keystone species?
● Foundational species
= affects the structure of a community.
● Keystone species
= affects the function of a community.
Growth forms attributes? (2)
• Exist differently in a community.
• If you only have one kind of growth form, you can use other community characteristics to define our community (you don’t have to rely solely on it to define your community).
What happens/What to do if you only have one growth form in your community?
You can use other community characteristics to define our community (you don’t have to rely solely on it to define your community).
Eg of Growth forms?
Klipriviersberg where you have grasses & forbs.