Lecture 4: Ecosystem Processes and Ecological Integrety Flashcards
Succession
the gradual process of change in species composition, community structure, soil chemistry, and microclimate characteristics that occurs following natural and anthropogenic (human-caused) disturbance.
Primary Succession
development of new substrate and vegetation on barren habitat (volcanic eruptions, receding glaciers, landslides, parking lots, meandering rivers).
Secondary Succession
incremental changes in species composition, etc. in existing habitat following a disturbance (forest fires, hurricanes, tree-falls, agricultural abandonment).
Tropic Levels
Quaternary Consumers «_space;Tertiary Consumers «_space;Secondary Consumers «_space;Primary Consumers «_space;Producers
Competition (Species Interactions)
intERspecific: between species
intRAspecific: within a species
Predation (Species Interactions)
as prey populations INCREASE so do predator populations, and as prey populations DECREASE so do predator populations.
Symbiosis (Species Interactions)
a close relationship between two species”living together”.
Commensalism - Mutualism - Parasitism
Keystone Species
a species with a large effect on its environment or ecological community, relative to its abundance.
Keystone Resource
a nutritional, physical, or structural resource crucial to many species in an ecosystem (nesting tree holes, clay/salt licks, watering holes, figs, etc.)
Ecological Integrity
a measure of the composition, structure, and function of an ecosystem; as compared with its natural or historical range of variation. - will an ecosystem recover from disturbance.
How to Measure Ecological Integrity
tree condition/regeneration
biotic homogenization
indicator species
soil chemistry
Indicator Species
a species whose presence, absence, or abundance reflects a specific environment condition
