Species Interactions and Community Ecology

Flashcards created to help review species interactions and community ecology concepts.

Mutualism describes close interactions between organisms that __ both participants.

benefit

Parasitism describes close interactions between organisms in which one organism __ at the cost of the other.

benefits

The oxpecker's relationship with large mammals is an example of __ because they eat parasites from the mammals' skin.

mutualism

In terms of parasitism, endoparasites live the host, while ectoparasites live the host.

within; on the exterior of

Commensalism occurs when one species and the other is by the interactions.

benefits; unaffected

The __ hypothesis suggests that communities do not achieve equilibrium and species composition changes frequently in response to disturbance.

individualistic

The process of __ is where one species modifies the local environment in ways that make it less suitable for itself but more suitable for colonization by other species.

facilitation

Resource partitioning occurs when species use resources or utilize the same resources in ways.

different; different

In competitive exclusion, one species can __ resources more efficiently than another.

harvest

Interspecific competition can reduce the population growth rate of one or more __ populations.

species

The __ theory of island biogeography indicates that the number of species on any island is governed by the rates of immigration and extinction.

equilibrium

The concept of a __ species refers to one that has a greater effect on community structure than its abundance suggests.

keystone