Ecological Communities

Question 1

What is the definition of a community?

Answer 1

An association of interacting species inhabiting a defined area, at a particular scale, over a particular span of time

Question 2

What is a guild?

Answer 2

Species living in a similar way

Question 3

What is a life form?

Answer 3

Species that have a similar growth form

Question 4

What is a functional group?

Answer 4

Species with a similar ecological function of attribute

Question 5

What are the attributes of a community?

Answer 5

The relative abundance of species within the community
The number of species and diversity
Species composition

Question 6

What is species abundance?

Answer 6

Measure on how common or rare a species is

Question 7

How can species abundance be measured?

Answer 7

Number of individuals
Species cover
Species biomass

Question 8

What is species dominance?

Answer 8

Communities include a dominant species that is much more common that all others

Question 9

What is species richness (s)?

Answer 9

The number of species in a community

Question 10

What is species diversity?

Answer 10

A measure of diversity that increases with species evenness and species richness

Question 11

What is species evenness?

Answer 11

The relative abundance of species in a community

Question 12

The more diverse a community is…

Answer 12

The more stable it is

Question 13

What are the three types of species diversity?

Answer 13

Gamma
Alpha
Beta

Question 14

What is gamma diversity?

Answer 14

Total diversity within a region or landscape

Question 15

What is alpha diversity?

Answer 15

Diversity within a locality within a region or landscape

Question 16

What is beta diversity?

Answer 16

A measure of the diversity among locations within a region

Question 17

How do we calculate beta diversity?

Answer 17

Gamma/alpha

Question 18

What is the difference between gamma and alpha diversity?

Answer 18

Gamma = diversity of a region
Alpha = diversity of a location

Question 19

What is the rank abundance curve?

Answer 19

A plot of relative abundance of species against their rank in abundance

Question 20

What does a flat rank of abundance mean?

Answer 20

The flatter the curve, the more even the community

Question 21

What factors increase and decrease biodiversity?

Answer 21

Time
Complexity
Exploitation and limitation
Global change

Question 22

What is the relationship between environmental complexity and species diversity?

Answer 22

The more complex or heterogeneous the environment, the greater species diversity

Question 23

What is included in complexity?

Answer 23

Vertical structure
Water movement
Nutrient availability
Light availability

Question 24

What is a simple homogeneous community?

Answer 24

Few factors influence the organisms
Few niches

Question 25

What is a complex heterogeneous community?

Answer 25

Many factors that influences the organisms
Many nices

Question 26

What type of community are lakes?

Answer 26

Complex because they have horizontal and vertical spatial complexity as well as temporal complexity

Question 27

What is species composition?

Answer 27

The species that occur in a given community at a given time

Question 28

What are species composition shifts?

Answer 28

Changes in and differences between communities are not only indicated by the number of species and the evenness of those species, but the species themselves

Question 29

Why is species composition important?

Answer 29

Species and species group identity influence ecosystem functioning
Composition can indicate shifts due to environment or anthropogenic effects

Question 30

What are biotic invaders?

Answer 30

Species that establish in a new range and proliferate, spread, and persist to the detriment of the environment
Non-native invasive species