Succession Key Words Flashcards
Succession
The changes in an ecosystem over time, and the species that occupy it.
Pioneer species
A species that can colonise bare rock or ground
Climax community
The stable, final, community that exists in a balanced equilibrium
Conservation
The maintenance of ecosystems and biodiversity by humans to preserve the earths resources. This typically involves the manage,ent of succession.
Interspecific competition
Competition between members of different species
Intraspecific competition
Competition between the same species.
Niche
How an organism fits j to an ecosystem and its role in that environment
Community
A group of populations of different species
Population
Group of individuals of the same species
Individual
One organism of one specie
Sand dune system
An ecosystem on the banks of water made of sand with hills and dips
Humus
Decomposed dead organic matter
Barren terrain
Land that’s empty and bare, very difficult for plants and animals to survive on unless they’re a specialist specie.
Hostile
Agressive, unpleasant when describing a person or object
Dominant specie
The main specie in an ecosystem, whether in number or ability. E.g shade tolerant trees are the dominant species because there are lots of them in the climax community and they’re better adapted.
Examples of pioneer species
Lichens moss marram grass
Grazing
Feeding done by cows horses sheep slow as where the top of grass is bitten off but the roots are still in tact. Feeding on plants short and close to the ground.
Browsing
Type of feeding that deer do where the small plant shoots and new leaves and flower buds on branches are chewed away. Feeding on taller plants.
To manage
To have control over a process that can affect the process in different ways, limiting it, accelerating it or maintaining it.
Catastrophic event
A sudden and terrible disastrous event.
Natural disaster
Abiotic events that cause great loss to life and damage to environment
