Ecological Interactions Flashcards
Ecological Niche
Role of a species in a community
Environmental factors that determine the species distribution
Endemic Species
Species that occur only in one area or one environment
Fundamental Niche
The total environment which can be exploited without biotic constraints
Realized Niche
Resources actually utilized due to environmental constraints or other species (aka limiting factors)
Limiting Factors
Environmental conditions that limit growth, distribution, and abundance of a population
determine optimal survival conditions when in deficiency or in excess
Limitations can Include?
- physiological stress due to inappropriate levels of a critical environmental factor
- competition with other species
- predation, including parasitism and disease
Indicator species
organisms whose sensitivities can tell about the environmental conditions in an area
Principle of competitive exclusion
No two species can occupy the same niche indefinitely
more efficient species in resource use will exclude the other
excluded species will disappear or develop a new niche and use resources differently
aka resource partitioning
Types of species Interactions
- Mutualism ++
- Commensalism +0
- Parasitism +-
- Predation +-
- Competiton +-/+-
Keystone Species
Plays a critical role in a biological community that is out of proportion to its abundance
effect ripples across multiple trophic levels
ecosystem heavily depends on them
Critical link species
supports a network of species
e.g. pollinators, nutrient circulators
Edge species
abundant in ecotone boundaries
Ecotone: area where two major communities meet or blend together
